I have heard this sentence several times during the last weeks when talking about where to celebrate Christmas, or where to go on vacation. I think it is remarkable that people who have lived in Canada for decades are still saying: "We are going home to Denmark".

And that is why I have started wondering: Where is home? What makes a home a home?

For me, home is a place to feel safe, a place with memories, a place where you can walk around in socks, tell bad dad-jokes and play loud music; All the sounds, the smells and most of all, the people and things that mean something special for you to make a place like home. For me, home is not a static thing - home is about relations.

And that is maybe why many with roots in Denmark are still travelling home to Denmark. Just like when they are in Denmark they are returning home to Canada.

When we see homeless people on the street, we know something may be wrong. But the sense of homelessness can also be invisible and live inside us. When we feel life strikes back, it is often because what we used to call home is broken: The loss of a beloved one, a separation, or the destruction of something valuable. Then we can feel homeless in our life. It can be for a short period, or it can turn out to be a constant feeling.

When someone dies, we often say that they are going home to God. That is a good belief to have, and a beautiful place to be home. But it is not only the dead that God is inviting home. We may believe in him as the home base for our life, both when life is good, and we belong to a home, or when life hurts, and we are feeling homeless.

Home is all about relations. The same is our life with God and each other. Welcome home!

Pastor Simon