If home is where the heart is...

If home is where the heart is, well then I guess I am never home- or perhaps even better, I am at home wherever I am...and have been. The truth is, I have not had a whole heart in a very long time- for I leave a small piece in every beautiful country I visit and with every wanting child I meet. I left a piece in the country of Haiti- it was the first time I had left the states, and I fell in love with the land and the people. I remember how my heart skipped a beat when I heard about the heartache and devastation in the January 2010 earthquake, for a piece of me was there…

I left another part on a beautiful mountaintop in Yamaranguila, Honduras. Far away from civilization was that tiny town- and even more perfect, that tiny little girl named Marleta. She sat on my lap for hours as the rest of my team ran a medical clinic. I knew that my job that day was simply to be with her. On the cold rainy morning, I remember how her smile radiated. I still pray for her often and think of her even more, for of course a piece of my heart is there with her.

I piece of my heart was left in arguably the most beautiful place on earth- Ushuaia, Argentina. There I remember hearing about the missionaries who arrived there hundreds of years before, and sitting in a gorgeous field of daisies, I recall God revealing a similar call on my life. I also remember the wonderful friends that I met, and I remember the feelings of sadness when we were leaving, my heart broke, and a piece remained.

If you have known anything about me at all in the past two years, you know of course that a very large piece of this heart still lies in my country- my land- Tanzania. There are 90+ kids that I can’t help but think of daily, and countless others that I love, pray for and miss. In Ntagacha, a very large piece of this heart stays.

If you visit Martinsville, VA a piece of me is there- that is where my fiancé lives and the destination of many a journey south over the past few years. My wonderful new family resides there, and of course, with them is a piece of me.

If you go to Lynchburg a small piece of me will be there. Though not fully established yet, it is where I will begin my first year of married life. I will learn how to be a better RN and wife. I will be taking my final steps of independence. As I grow and learn to love- a piece of my heart will stay.

And finally- here I sit in Chambersburg. I love this town because it is where I grew up. Chambersburg is where I have learned and grown. It is where my passions began to develop, and it is where I grew into the woman I am today. Here a very large piece of my heart lives, because it is where me family is. My parents, sisters, brothers-in law and my two (almost 3) adorable and vivacious nieces- a large, large part is with them. These are the people who have walked alongside me on my journeys, and sometimes in front when I needed them to lead the way. A time or two they have even stepped behind, allowing me to go out alone and find the way myself. They are the ones who taught me what it really means to love.

And so I have learned that if home is where the heart is, then home is wherever I want it to be. For my heart is always beating, always loving and I always find a place to call home.