Tom Wolfe’s Novel, You Can’t Go Home Again, makes an assertion few would challenge. The title is a self-evident statement, so it isn’t necessary to read the book to understand its general meaning.
Anyone who’s returned to their former home finds at least two things that have changed, often almost beyond recognition: their home and themselves. Add for consideration that the person’s memory of their home is askew and we realize going “home” again really is impossible.
I learned this reality over the years, each time I would visit my parents. My perspective was evolving and so was my family of origin. It was kind of sad, realizing that ever so often we had to say goodbye to a tradition or familiar set of circumstances and move forward accepting something different.
I’ve realized recently, though, that we can no more leave home than we can go back home. Both of my parents passed away eight years ago, and although they’re never coming back, their almost tangible influence is still very real. I both appreciate and enjoy the memories of lessons they taught me over half a century ago. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t get away from my parents.
My siblings and I – all five us – have remained close. Our sibling text group stays pretty busy, each of us sharing thoughts and feelings we’re experiencing that relate somehow to our years growing up together.
Social media has made it much easier to also stay in touch with friends from life’s previous chapters; every time I see a post or message from an old friend, who is very much a part of my home of origin, it, too, keeps me connected to home.
So while it’s true that you can’t go home again, it’s also true that you can’t ever leave home.
It could be said that we’re caught between leaving home and returning home, never fully free to do either. While that’s a precarious position, it’s neither dire nor dangerous. The fact is, whether we realize it or not, we are where we are and we are who we are, and we’re always dependent upon the protective and guiding hand of the Almighty. Being unable to either leave or return home is still an okay place to be. Besides, if I have the choice, I’m not sure whether I would choose leaving or returning. And the best place to be is neither of those, but in the place of walking with God, and He is here walking with us in this no-man’s land between home and away.
This is just another of a multitude of ways of looking at life. And life from any perspective is good and comfortable because we have the promise from Jesus that He’ll never leave us or turn His back on us. So with Him, we can always be at home and leaving is never a desire or reality. There’s one more problem to which Jesus is the answer. A la Romans 7:25, thank You God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. And it always is.
“Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Romans 7:25 NLT
