Home Again

Last updated on: September 4, 2012 at 9:12 am by Lia Scholl

Home Again 2012-09-04T09:12:14-06:00 Lia Scholl

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Child, child, have patience and belief, for life is many days, and each present hour will pass away. Son, son, you have been mad and drunken, furious and wild, filled with hatred and despair, and all the dark confusions of the soul – but so have we. You found the earth too great for your one life, you found your brain and sinew smaller than the hunger and desire that fed on them – but it has been this way with all men. You have stumbled on in darkness, you have been pulled in opposite directions, you have faltered, you have missed the way, but, child, this is the chronicle of the earth. And now, because you have known madness and despair, and because you will grow desperate again before you come to evening, we who have stormed the ramparts of the furious earth and been hurled back, we who have been maddened by the unknowable and bitter mystery of love, we who have hungered after fame and savored all of life, the tumult, pain, and frenzy, and now sit quietly by our windows watching all that henceforth never more shall touch us – we call upon you to take heart, for we can swear to you that these things pass.

― Thomas Wolfe, You Can’t Go Home Again

Alabama is my home. You know how I know this? As I was driving here on Saturday, along the interstate, I looked to the side of the rode and saw a kudzu dinosaur. If you don’t know what a kudzu dinosaur is, you are not from Alabama. This photo is from the Kud-Zoo.

Kudzuthesaurus

That kudzu dinosaur made my heart sing.

This is my home.

And the people I love here have known me for what seems to be hundreds of years. They hold my history, having lived it with me. They have lived my ups and my downs. They have trusted me with their children. They have trusted me with their money. They’ve fed me when I needed a hot meal. And eaten at my table more times that I can tell.

And here’s the thing:

They know a different me than exists today. They know the me who traveled fearlessly (okay, with fear and trepidation, but still, fearlessly). They know the me who loved without reservation. They know the me who painted my living room bright orange. They know the me who faced the world with a strange mix of naïveté and worldliness.

And because I believe that she was the best me, it’s hard to be here. I want to be that me again.

Previous Post

September 3, 2012

Happy Labor Day

Next Post

September 11, 2012 Politics and the Pastor

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Agency Being Human Church Community Exegesis God Harm Reduction I Heart Sex Workers Love Poverty Relationships Sermon Sex Work Uncategorized Vocation Women Writing

Select a Month June 2013 May 2013 December 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who led the Israelites in battle at Jericho?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Joshua Samson David Gideon