Home Base

It is early morning. My puppies, Sammy and Boo have eaten, been outside and now it is time to play. They are playing nip, bite, wrestle, run and chase with each other all through the house while I sit at my PC to check my e-mails and do a little writing.

As I sit at my desk, they come rushing back here every few minutes to wrestle under my chair and at my feet. (Sometimes my feet get in the way of the nip and bite). Sometimes they will both stop a moment and ever so gently lick my feet, and off they go to other parts of the house. When they are tired of all the playing, they plop down at my feet and rest. It does not matter if anyone else is in the house….they always come back to me.

I guess I am home base.

There is always a home base...in baseball, in hide and seek, in red light, green light. When you go shopping with family, you adjust your watches and everyone meets back at the information center at a certain time. In an emergency, like a house fire, you plan and your family has a safe meeting place outside the house. Your home is home base for the family members…even when they may not live there anymore.

A home base, a safe place, and place that everyone likes or needs to meet.

I feel that way about my times with the Lord. Weather it be during prayer, quiet times, bible studies, in my car or taking a walk. In other words, Christ is THE home base no matter where I am and that is so comforting to me.

I think of my church as my home base as well. My spiritual home base for sure….but so much more. I meet there with others that I love and they love me. I meet there for fellowship and instruction. I meet there for worship and song. I meet there for communion and prayer. I meet there to encourage and to be encouraged. I meet there to be of help to anyone who has a need. I meet there to search for new people and welcome them. I meet there to hug, laugh and share with those that greeted and welcomed me so long ago, and now are dear, dear friends as well as brothers and sisters in Christ.

During worship times, I love to just stop and look around at the dear faces all around me…all lifting their voices in praise. We are all together…gathered in the same place at the same time each week. We may not all have the same reasons for being there…for each life journey with Christ is different...but we all have one thing in common and that is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ….and it draws us to this place we call church.

There was another man long ago, inspired by God to write the same thoughts, but in a much more eloquent and spiritual way:

Since therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near. Heb. 10:14-25

As you see the day drawing near….each day is one day closer to the Lord coming back and calling His own home…to our new home base…a glorious new home base…with God the Father and Christ the Son.

Until then, like my puppies...I will gather at my home base…and rest at the feet of my Living Savior.