“Wherever we are always accepted and never alone, never abandoned, our deepest dreams can come true – even in the midst of nightmares.” (Ann Voskamp – Waymaker)

In a paragraph about addiction and loss, death, betrayal and rejection, Ann Voskamp writes about dreams coming true. We expect our lives to be easy roads, she muses, maybe because the screens in our lives say, subtly or directly, that a product or a person can make things perfect.

This is a lie.

Suffering, says Ann, doesn’t mean you’re cursed; suffering means you’re human.

She is right, I think. Suffering is more common than we think.

If we grip the illusion we adopted at the beginning – or the story someone gave us – that life should be a thrilling backdrop as we, the heroines, wow the world with our beauty, poise, energy and intelligence, we are going to collide with disappointment.

The mundane unfolding of an average life, touched here and there with pain, does not have to be horrible.

Let’s loosen our grip on the notions that hold us hostage as we scramble after (or sadly lament the absence of) the perfect life, body, family or career. Let’s lift our gaze to the overlooked nooks and the underappreciated places in our every day lives.

I know I’ve said it before, but I want to tell you again. You are not alone. You are loved. You are wanted. You will never be abandoned.

The struggle reminds us that we are not Home. That’s okay.

His love makes it possible to live well away from Home.