October is my very favorite month of the year. From the time I was a little girl, my heart has thrilled as autumn quietly begins to make her presence known. Cool mornings turn into chilly mornings and sunny evenings give way to shadowy evenings. Geese wing their way south, their airborne cries so familiar, so tied to childhood memories that as I crane my neck to watch them, I feel eight years old again… watching in wonder.
Maybe it was the savory pots of chili my mom made on crisp fall nights, or the joy of kicking through piles of leaves on the walk home from school. Maybe it was my sister and I tumbling inside at dusk with cold hands and noses, spent from hours of imaginative play with neighbor kids. Or it could have been any of the other autumn-blessed memories of October days that shaped my delight in fall.
But if I had to nail it down, I think the thrill of October is the signal to draw in, to come home. After the whirl of summer activity and travel and long days of sunshine, fall slips in with her invitation to slow down and settle in at home. I think this is why a simple pot of chili speaks love and comfort to me. As a girl, when I came home from school and was greeted by that familiar smell, it felt like my mom was saying, “I’ve been thinking about you. Welcome home.”
This is what I want to cultivate in our family: love made manifest in a hundred small ways… little pajamas warm from the dryer, Abuelita’s Mexican hot chocolate and buttery toast for breakfast, a rather tired good night prayer and kiss. I realize that life is busy and full, but at the end of the day, we do come home. We return to the place that shelters us, finding comfort in the familiarity of people and place – and hopefully, drawing others into the blessing of belonging.
Crafting an earthly place of shelter and belonging echoes what Jesus has done for us, His sons and daughters, in bringing us into a place of belonging. In Ephesians, Paul writes, “But now in Christ you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ… So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God… in Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place by God by the Spirit.” (Eph. 2:13, 19, 22, ESV). Through the blood of Jesus, we are granted access to intimate fellowship with God, as well as the family of God.
So then, go light that pumpkin-scented candle and lovingly prepare that next meal (even if it’s just oatmeal), because the art of cultivating home life is sacred when we do it in service to Jesus.
This fall, what are some ways you could cultivate a welcoming home? Think of those already in your home AND others you can invite into your home!
P.S. Here is a soundtrack piece that I’m loving this autumn (along with the rest of the album!)
Beautiful!
Thank you so much for your encouragement, Gail! : )