How long has it been since you have chased a butterfly?  Can you remember as a child seeing a butterfly gently land in a garden just out of your reach and as you stretch out to touch it, it soars to the heavens, only to land 3 feet away?  Then I change tactics and decide to sneak up on the poor unsuspecting creature.  Slowly I inch my way closer and closer until I pounce with lightning speed and all the cunning of a jungle cat; and once again he disappears like a magician, only to reappear inches away.  (I must have been dealing with magical butterflies).

        So it was the other day when I spotted this beautiful winged rainbow, we call a butterfly.  I began chasing after him with a camera and was amazed that he was still able to allude me.  Just as I focused upon his wing and about to press the shutter, suddenly nothing remained in the viewfinder.  I look up and easily locate my allusive friend, I reposition, refocus and just like last time end up pursuing him around the garden.  And just about the time I think I will have to go home empty handed, he gracefully lands next to me, politely smiles and says, cheese.

        Lucky for him I never go home until I get my photograph.  As I thought about my trip down memory lane chasing the butterflies of my past, my thoughts travel back home.  Home, to mom and dad, brother and sister and days spent learning how to love and laugh, work and play in a place where it was safe to simply be myself.  The joys I knew as a child are among my most treasured possessions.  The delightful fragments of my childhood memories fill my heart to this day with such peace and joy.  I can see now that my home was a self-contained shelter of security and a garden of growth.  Yes, there is truly no place like home.

        Today, let us celebrate our homes.  Let us guard and protect them like they were priceless treasures; let us honor and support its members with our whole hearts.  Let us remember the lessons we learned setting in our mothers lap; lessons on kindness, honesty and respect.  Let us think back to a time when life was simple and dinner was shared around a table with those who not only shared your name but also hopes and dreams.  Today, do something nice for those who share that place we call home.  Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home.

Something to think about:

• Home is where life makes up its mind. It is there—with fellow family members—we hammer out our convictions on the anvil of relationships. It is there we cultivate the valuable things in life, like attitudes, memories, beliefs, and most of all, character.

• If your home is unbearable, maybe you’re the bear.

• Home, a place that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.

• If there is any good in you, it should show itself first in your own household.

• Many who have gold in the house are looking for copper outside.

• How your children see the world depends on what you show them.

• A happy home is more than a roof over your head—it’s a foundation under your feet.

• Home is a place where the great are small and the small are great.

Thankful for memories of home
Rickey Moore