At Home

After taking a couple days and nights away from this amazing bustling city in a tranquil town with natural hot springs that lies across the Marmara Sea in Asia we had come back to our city. The ferry ride was quite windy and the boat, while packed with people and cars, swayed from side to side for the hour and half in the water. Once back in Istanbul we herded off the ferry like cattle only to board a crowded bus. Arriving at the metro station, we then took a familiar ride on the rail to the stop near our place. We are blessed to live so close to the station, but I still bundle up as the temperature continues to drop with autumn fully settled in. My scarf was tucked inside my peacoat and my hat pulled down over my ears. With a bag in each hand I stepped off the metro and started down the stairs. I hadn’t taken three steps when a rush of peace and joy overcame me; it was the serenity of being home.

Ever since moving into this flat two months ago I have been sleeping here each night. Despite the three days off of work last week I stayed at home and enjoyed the days with new friends and by taking care of issues at home. When we first moved in it was the lock on the front door, then it was electrical problems, the phone line, and most recently a leak in the kitchen. On Wednesday morning we woke to a constant dripping coming from our water heater. Wednesday was a holiday, so on Thursday I called the plumber. After waiting all evening for his arrival I gave up (enter: MacGyver). By duck taping a couple plastic bags together I was able to construct a trough for the drips to run across the kitchen into the sink. Immediately following work on Friday our team departed for the retreat together.

The retreat was beneficial; everything a weekend with the team should be. We relaxed in the natural and historic hot spring, ate traditional local cuisine together, encouraged one another, and worshipped the Lord in song and study. Philippians 3:20 reminded me that of all the places around the world where I have lived, from Spain, to China, to the USA, and now Turkey, none of them are truly my home. While I am immensely affectionate of this city, I still long for more years in Spain, and even still hold tightly to the hope that I will return to my church family in America. God has blessed me with opportunities to call many places home. I adapt, and after getting over some minor cultural differences I find I’ve fallen in love with yet another city where I imagine I could seemingly live forever. But the truth is I will never be completely satisfied in a place on earth because I belong to the Kingdom of Heaven, where Jesus Christ lives.