Home

While holed up during a surprise six-day vacation with snow all around us, we sat as a family transfixed by the harsh images portrayed in the epic movie Roots. Having purchased the boxed set many years ago, this was the first time we shared it with our eight-year-old daughter. As I do each time I view it...I saw it for the very first time...I struggled with Fanta and I cried with Kizzy and I felt the awesome rush of freedom with Chicken George and his sons. But this time more than ever I empathized with Mammy Belle, the devoted wife of "the old African", Kunta Kinte.

When I was first married nearly 15 years ago, my husband and I were watching some movie on TV where the gangsters were forced to leave everything they knew...their homes, their families and their friends to either go into hiding or enter the Witness Protection Program. My husband is fairly quiet and using words extremely sparingly, he said to me the thing that I most treasure....more than, "I love you"...more than, "You are beautiful" (although those things are always great to hear!!!!!)... he turned to me and said, "as long as I am with you, I am home". Wow! How awesome is that? I still get a little choked up when I think of it. More incredibly, I asked him recently if he still felt that way and after such a long time together...he DOES...and so do I!

In Roots, Kunta Kinte even after he jumped the broom with the woman he loved, he still listened for the drum, he still looked for freedom, and tried to find his way back to Africa. While I have never been a slave, (Thank God!) in his constant discontent, wasn't he further enslaving himself? and moreover enslaving his family--as they never knew if today was the day that they would wake up and he would be gone? Did he not find "home" in the love of his wife and his child? While trite, isn't home where your heart is?

Dear Lord, May home for my family always be more than just a physical structure, but a place that provides love and security. Let us know that in one another we are home. Let us not look outside of each others' arms to find comfort and support. Let us create a home that is a strong and solid foundation that is built to last. Let us model it after your example. In your name I pray. Amen.

Valentine's Day Trap

As I busy myself shopping for my Valentine's Day gifts for my two sweethearts, my husband and my daughter, I criticize myself as I do every year for allowing myself to fall into "the trap".

Valentine's Day is the card makers, the post office, and florists' dream! Not including the little cards our kids exchange in their classrooms, over 188 million cards are purchased and sent on Valentine's Day. But what does it really mean?

Is Valentine's Day the day we show our loved ones that we love them? Is it the day we romance our significant other? Is it the day we drag out our sexiest negligee and prepare for a wild night of 'unbridled passion' (LOL--can't believe I just used that phrase!)? Aren't those things that we should be doing everyday? Aren't those the things that contribute to creating a strong relationship? Shouldn't you cuddle your children every moment of everyday? Shouldn't you ensure that romance and wild nights of passion are regular components of your relationship with your significant other? And above all else, shouldn't you always, always show the ones you love that you love them with your words and with your acts... everyday?

And while I believe in my heart that these things are true...And I know on my hips that chocolate is the last thing I need...Here I am purchasing Valentine's Day gifts for my two sweethearts, so that they know that I love them and I am certain that I will do the same next year. But I hope that they do not question my love the other 364 days of the year.

Dear Lord, teach me to love as You loved. Ensure that my family and friends know that they are special in my life. Help me to show them that they are loved. Even when we argue and disagree, let us do so lovingly, without ugly words or temperaments. Help us to love another as you love us. AMEN.