“Of all the places you’ve lived, which one is your favorite?”
It was a casual conversation and a question I’ve been asked many times. Impossible to answer.
So I said the usual: “There’s something special about each one.” But over the next days I reflected on the significance of place in our lives. What is it that lodges a certain location in our hearts and minds?
And I began to notice place in God’s Word.
Moses
Take Exodus 3, for instance. Moses was on the far side of the wilderness at the foot of a mountain called “Desolation” (Mt. Horeb).
Not exactly on anyone’s list of Top 10 Favorite Destinations.
But that was the place of the burning bush and the holy ground. Where Moses heard the voice of God calling his name.
There he began a journey with the Holy One that is still being talked about today.
Hard place
If you had asked me in the early 1990s, “Is Karachi, Pakistan, your favorite?” I would have said, “Are you crazy?”
Desert heat. Power outages. Water shortages.
Frequent strikes and shutdowns in the midst of violence and civil unrest. Mistreatment of women.
It was hard. But slowly, surely that desert megacity became a treasured place.
Why?
Why?
- I learned to praise the Lord in a foreign land.
- I discovered more deeply who He is, as I cried out “Teach me Your ways, that I may know You!” (Ex 33:13).
- The ugliness of my pride was exposed, revealing a divided heart that hindered wholehearted trust and obedience. A necessary humbling took place. (Ps 86:11) see Teach me Your way, Lord
- I began to see beyond the brown and grey of the city and found beauty in the culture and its desert setting. (Ps 16:5,6)
- Cross-cultural friendships developed that taught and challenged and encouraged me.
And so much more.
Treasured place
Treasured place. Karachi? Yes. But it didn’t happen overnight.
If we had moved away after a couple of years I couldn’t have said that. But we stayed until He led us to a new place 8 years later.
And one day I was able to say with the psalmist, “You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Ps 16:11 ESV).
That was the key. Learning to abide in Christ through prayer and the Word.
Learning to daily seek and rely on the One who is my spacious place, my true Home. The Lord God Almighty.
What about you?
What’s your treasured place?
10 replies on “Place”
That is beautiful. Learning to praise God when it’s not easy has been my lesson here in the PI, one I’m still learning even after five years.
Yes—“sacrifice of praise” becomes personal and real. Grace to you, sister.
Thanks for thoughtful and challenging words.
Like you I would struggle to name a favorite given how many places we lived. Some, like Albuquerque, I love for their beauty (at least to the eyes of this desert-born child). Others, like Pflugerville, I loved for the people and the growth that occurred there.
Thank you for sharing! I started to use a TCK tag because this is a TCK struggle, for sure…
Susan, this is wonderful, and has really been inspirational.
Unlike you, I’ve never lived outside of Alabama, but a place can be a situation rather than a geographic spot on a map.
My favorite “place” is a situation, and as unlikely as it might seem, my journey this year after my breast cancer diagnosis has been the best place I’ve been.
I have grown and appreciated so much of being in this “place” and trusting God no matter what. I am grateful beyond measure that I can say that I’m a survivor. But more than that, I’m humbled and in awe of the undeniably incredible things He did for me, and everyone He placed, and continues to place, along my path on this journey.
Thank you for sharing.
Pat, somehow I just now found your wonderful response to “Place.” It was in a spam folder I didn’t know existed. Anyway, thank you for sharing your difficult yet wonderful experience–the “place” where He met you and provided. Rejoicing that you are a survivor–and even more so that your journey after the diagnosis “has been the best place” you’ve been! Glory to God.
I have lived in 7 States and 3 foreign countries – a total of 14 cities or towns. It truly is difficult to choose an absolute favorite place! Each place is especially dear to me because of particular friends or things that I experienced there. In a way, they are all favorites! But, “push come to shove” I’d have to pick Charlotte, NC because of the very special way that God worked in my life while I lived there.
I would love to hear that story some time, Dale! Grace to you, friend.
If your favorite place is the one you weep when you have to leave, then I have two places. And God granted me the grace of returning to to one of them. Thanks for sharing your heart!
You know how it is, sister. Thank you!