If you know me, you probably know that I grew up in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. This was home for me. We moved around a lot, but this was home. My touchstone. Even when my family no longer lived there I would go back to visit whenever I could. Something about those misty mountains touched the deep places of my heart – and continues to do so.

After marrying my wife in Oklahoma, we moved back to those mountains for a brief time. It was less than a year. Our hearts broke when we left. We both wept.

It has been over 3 years since then. I still miss my mountains, but not like I used to. You see. I have finally found my true home. I have known of Christ since I was a young child. I have known him intimately for about 6 years. After coming to know him intimately in my spirit – by body and soul continued to look for a resting place. It was very elusive. At one point I thought the only solution was to start a mountain retreat and basically establish my own version of Christianity in a little enclave that people could come to to get away from the world.

There was a lot of loneliness and darkness in this vision. I couldn’t see it at the time, but it is clear in the rearview mirror. When Christ prayed for us all to be one – as He and His Father are – it did not include us all establishing our own versions of His Church.

It has been two years now since I made the fateful decision- that you can check out here – that I was being led to pursue the Catholic Church and accept its truth. Over one year since I was actually confirmed a Catholic.

It was sometime after this confirmation that my wife and I were driving through our middle sized Midwest town. Not a mountain within hours. I looked at her and said, “you know what? I’m okay with being here. It feels like the mountains are no longer my home. The Church is. I could go anywhere in the world, and as long as the Church was there. I would be Home.”

The mountains still call to me. I don’t deny the connection between our spirits and the various types of land that we are designed for. However, home is where the heart is. And my heart is finally home. Residing close to the heart of My Savior. His Body. His Church. My Home.