TCK

Not as many people know what TCK stands for as I think do. Third Culture Kid. That’s what I am, even though we only lived overseas for three years. For those three years that where I called home – I had good times, bad times, crazy times, extremely hot times followed by a tons of rain and times filled with the joy of knowing that we lived in a safe community with many other believers. To some Malaysia wouldn’t be a safe place or they could never imagine calling it home. But to me, that was where I wanted to be and that was where I was along with my family so that was home.

Which bring up the question of what makes up a home? I know some people would go straight to Pinterest and find their boards filled with things they have in their home or want for their home. While others pull out photos of their home throughout the ages or a picture of each house they lived in. For me home is really just memories. I don’t remember much of the stuff I learned in school, I remember the lunch hours and the times my friends and I cried together or laughed together. My whole memory is filled with times like those from all over the world. Memories from Lumsden which I would rather forget, memories from Malaysia that always make my heart feel warm and full, then there are memories from Regina but for living their three years my memories are from all over – the road trips with the fam, going on work trips with mum and going to youth treats at Colleges over the weekends.

All that brings us to now – Texas. My mind is full of cowboys and cowgirls, the dust clouds everywhere and times of laughing until my stomach is killing me with pain and then not being able to remember what started that laughter. All truly wonderful times. However, that doesn’t answer the question at hand – what makes up a home? Those are all memories from my home. My home is me, where I am is where my home is. Not meaning I am going to be bring everything I own to each place I go – that just wouldn’t work at this point. But it means I need to be happy where I am, of course there will be hard times, there are hard times everywhere, and we can’t run away from those. However, I can find the positive in bad times – gotta start seeing the cup half full not empty.

I have a great life and a great family that have like always supported me in whatever I was jumping into. That’s simply amazing and not everyone’s got that. I have two parents who are still together and don’t have plans of splitting up. I’ve got one older brother who has always been there for me through everything. Then I’ve got seven grandparents who have never disappointed me. Plus a whole bunch of cousins, aunts & uncles and tons of friends all over who care and love for me. How did I end up with all of this? I want to find a place that is my home, that I can go to and be like look this is mine. But imagining people who have lived in the same house their whole life is hard for me (after six years everyone should have to move by law).  So then why would I want to be able to go somewhere and say that this place is mine? That’s not what I want, I don’t want to live somewhere forever, and that just will not do at all. I like to travel and Asia has a very special place in my heart now.

I don’t have a home. That’s it. I don’t have an earthly home that I am longing for; my heart is yearning for my heavenly home. My heart is sad and having a rough week because I am longing for Jesus. I want to be able to physical reach out and know that He is there. This may be something I will struggle with for the rest of my life, wanting to be able to physical see and touch my heavenly creator. However, I know I cannot until I go to heaven and frankly I don’t feel like I am ready to go yet and as far as I know I am not being called home yet either.

2^nd Corinthians 5:1-10

‘For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, inasmuch as we, having out in on, will not be found naked. For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge. Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord--- for we walk by faith, not by sight--- we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether are home or absent, to be pleasing to him. For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.’

Love,

a.m