My old college dorm room was very Spartan by today's standards. It had
no computer, no cell phone, and no television. The furniture was two
plain desks, two hard desk chairs, and two lumpy bunk beds. The heater
never kept the room warm enough in the Winter either. I can still
remember sitting and shivering in one of those hard chairs, struggling
to read and understand Shakespeare with my half frozen feet buried under
my bed blankets.
Still, that tiny room was my home for several
years. It was the place where my roommate, friends, and I would gather
to talk about the professors we liked, the classes we hated, and what we
hoped to do with our lives. It was there we discussed the difficulties
in understanding women. Even Shakespeare seemed easier. It was there
that we listened to music, missed our families, and helped each other
laugh the loneliness away.
Living in that little room for all
those years taught me a few things too. It showed me that no matter
where you are you can still carry your home in your heart. Even during
the hardest times there, the love of God and my family lived within me.
That love helped me to do my best in school, to help my friends, and to
find joy in each day. I also learned that a big heart beats a big room
any day of the week. I found that with love the smallest shack and the
humblest hut becomes a home full of happiness, and without love the most
magnificent mansion and the costliest castle can feel cold, empty, and
alone.
May you always carry your home safely in your heart then.
May you always fill each place you live with God-given love, laughter
and joy. The price of your place doesn't matter, but the love you
share in it is priceless. That love will go on with you from room to
room and house to house until you carry it to your eternal home in
Heaven.