A Home Away From Home

When you think of home, what do you think of? For some, it’s a place of rest, quiet, or even laughter and joy. For others, it may be an unsteady or unsettling place, a place they never want to see again. For me, I have been blessed to have a home that has been a place of rest, a place to sit and think, and a place where I know I am loved. But it has definitely come with its unsettling moments too. It’s never perfect, and that is because we are cohabitating with humans who are sinful in nature. Even my college house comes with both conflict and moments where we can sit together in silence and simply enjoy one another’s presence.

When I think of the Study Center, I think of a home. Not a perfect home, but a home full of true joy and love. It is a place where I can truly sit and rest. A place to commune with others, to laugh, to cry, and to lay my struggles at the door. No matter what time of day I come in, I find myself leaving filled up. I’ve never left feeling worse than when I came in, or feeling like I wasn’t seen.

I think one of the things that makes the Study Center feel so much like home is that I don’t feel like I have to perform when I am there. College can so easily become a place where we measure ourselves by what we accomplish. How are my grades? What am I involved in? What internship do I have? What am I doing after graduation? Am I doing enough? Sometimes it feels like there is always something else I should be doing or someone else I should be becoming. But when I walk into the Study Center, I feel like I can just be. I can sit on the couch, do homework, talk to someone in the kitchen, laugh with friends, or have a conversation about something I am struggling with. There is something really special about being in a place where you feel known and loved before you have accomplished anything.

I’ve also realized that a lot of what makes the Study Center feel like home happens in the ordinary moments. It isn’t always the big events or planned conversations. Sometimes it’s sitting around a table eating together, someone asking how my day has been, studying beside a friend, or walking in and seeing a familiar face. Those moments may seem small, but I think they are what make a place feel like home. They remind you that you belong there.

The more I think about why the Study Center feels like home to me, the more I realize how much it reflects Jesus. Jesus is our true home. He is steady when everything around us feels uncertain. He is comforting when life feels overwhelming. He is a place where we can lay down our burdens and stop trying to hold everything together ourselves. Jesus tells us that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. He doesn’t ask us to have everything figured out before we come to Him. He simply invites us to come.

I think that is what I experience in a small way every time I walk into the Study Center. I am welcomed as I am. I am reminded that I am known. I am given a place to rest. And through imperfect people, shared meals, laughter, tears, conversations, and ordinary afternoons, I get a small glimpse of the kind of love and belonging that Jesus offers us.

Maybe that is what makes somewhere a true home away from home. It isn’t just a place where you are comfortable. It is a place where you are known, loved, welcomed, and able to rest. And maybe the best earthly homes are the ones that remind us where our true home is.