“SOMETIMES...I WANDER ABOUT IN THIS HOUSE THAT NATHAN AND I
RENEWED, THAT IS NOW AGED AND WORN BY OUR LIFE IN IT. HOW MANY
STEPS, WEARING THE THRESHOLDS? I LOOK AT IT ALL AGAIN. SOMETIMES
IT FILLS TO THE BRIM WITH SORROW, WHICH SIGNIFIES THE JOY THAT HAS
BEEN HERE, AND THE LOVE. IT IS ENTIRELY A GIFT.”
- Wendell Berry, from Hannah Coulter
We round the bend and crest the hill, and suddenly
return to the people and places that are so dear, and
the whole mountain valley unfolds before us. The
I suspect that you feel a similar desire.
steep sides of Starr Mountain rise shelteringly
This issue is a celebration of home, with its complex
above to the right, and hilly farmland lifts to the left.
and beautiful impact on our lives. You will read
Just ahead, a mere two miles from the base of the
themes of hospitality, family, and hope, and be
mountain, our little brick house is nestled on one
comforted by the reminder that our longings for
and a half acres of land. A strip of pines mark the
home will one day be fully satisfied in our eternal
property boundaries out back, it’s welcoming shade
Home.
split down the middle by a gulley that still shelters
You will meet women around the world who are
our hand-built playhouse, the old metal shed, a
making homes in very different, but meaningful
treasure we buried and never found again, and a
ways. A guest writer challenges us to cultivate a
dozen years of memories.
life that says “Welcome!”, and others offer practical
My heart still lurches into my throat when I go
advice for transitioning into a new community.
back to the home where I grew up. In its quirky,
Having interacted personally with each author,
3-bedroom interior with its “potato salad” kitchen
artist, and photographer, I am confident that their
linoleum, olive green toilets, and attic that went on
voices will direct your heart toward growth and
forever, we all grew up together. Our neighborhood
healing.
was our playground, and we roamed for hours
As life changes and takes us to new places, the
among the fields, mountain trails, and nearby river.
seeds of home remain in our hearts. We are tugged
I am filled with a sweet wistfulness when I think
back, over and over, guided safely into harbor by
about the memories cradled in the palm of the valley.
the people and places that are so dear. And even
And even though I have had many homes since then,
when our experience of home fails us and leaves us
none will quite compare to the tiny brick one on Old
wandering, what comfort to find our Home in Jesus,
Mecca Pike, at the base of Starr Mountain.
the Rock of Refuge who never changes.
The longing for home is in us all, a yearning that is
My prayer is that this issue fills you with hope and
often beyond our ability to describe. Home is where
great expectation for the home God has given you -
our roots go deep and our identity is defined - for
both here on earth and yet to come.
better or for worse. Home is the place of knowing
and being known.
With love,
As we approach the Fall season, our thoughts turn
Rae Schrock
Editor in Chief
toward home. It is the season when I long most to
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