The difference between a house and a home

Do you live in a house or do you occupy a home? The word, home, has a soft and comforting sound to it. There is a question that we can ask ourselves and that is "What is the difference?"Britanica.com says that "a house is a building in which someone lives." A home can be any location that a person thinks of as a place they live and that belongs to them." It can be a tent, a boat, or in a box in an alley. Encyclopedia Britannica adds, also, that "Home can even be a place in your mind." When you say things like "There's no place like home, home sweet home and I'll be home for Christmas, to name a few descriptions, you may not be referring to a structure or building, particularly. Rather, more than likely, you are thinking of the emotional attachment you have to certain places or people. If those loved ones are present, they are a part of what we feel is home.

We feel comfortable, loved, familiar with, and attached to those people, and possibly the surroundings. We can feel at home with the mountains, or flatland, or whatever arouses feelings of belonging within us.

We seldom care in what kind of house, our loved ones occupy or what they look like. We're more interested in them as persons that bring back memories of our ties with them. Regardless of our reasons for wanting to go home, the yearning is still there. Our immediate family is quite possibly our main example of what we think of as home. If we attend family gatherings at Christmas time, on the Fourth of July or Easter, the reason is usually because those get-togethers bring enjoyment to us, and those with whom we share the celebration. We enjoy the warm, comfortable, loving feelings that we have, during those times. We are going home again, while we still can.

As a young person, thinking back, I realize that I failed to enjoy those seemingly forced-upon me, gatherings. I looked forward to the day when I could do my own thing rather than feeling obligated to be with all my extended family on those days. It often became a chore. Now, I wish I could relive those times, and that I would have appreciated them more. Many of the people are gone and I miss them. Their absence has dimmed the light of "going home." I presently try to keep our family group together, as much as possible. Often now, our house has become the place where, hopefully, our smaller downsized family, thinks of as home, on some of the special occasions when we come together. I believe that family is important, and even though some of our relatives aren't especially compatible, they are still always welcome at our home, and I would miss them if they weren't there. Those are the sorts of things that changes a building into a home.

Many times you think of home when you enter the door of those who exhibit a welcoming demeanor. One relative, in particular, always makes me feel welcome. Janie isn't wealthy, by any means, but she lets me know that she is overjoyed that I'm there. I always feel as if I'm truly wanted. She goes out of her way to make me want to stay longer.

Warm food and the presence of others, with which to share a meal, is a characteristic of home. I still think of my aunt's round dining-room table with a plastic table-cloth hanging from it--one made for a square table. My aunt Lee always had people sharing Sunday dinner, and she was known for her tasty chicken and dumplings. Another favorite dish she prepared was her delicious macaroni and tomatoes. My brother and I often spent time with my aunt and her family, including cousins. Little cash was involved in our pleasures, there, but the commoradorie shared was evidence that Aunt Lee's home did justice to the word, home.

Deutermonomy 26:6 is a summation of what I hope guests receive from visiting my home "You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out."