Ain't nothing like the real thing

As I see it, the ideal with travel is for the traveler's horizons to be broadened, her world to be expanded, her sensibilities enlightened . . . and her heart turned toward home, where she enjoys a new appreciation for her life.

All too easily, the reality with travel is for the traveler to be so impressed with the beautiful and the exotic that she has difficulty appreciating the--well, the homeliness--of home.

On our anniversary trip, I stood inspired and enthralled by the grandeur of Notre Dame. I gasped in wonder at the loveliness of Sainte Chappelle. I marveled at the beauty of the chapel at Versailles.

And I came home to worship God in an elementary school gym.

No glorious stained glass windows. No awe-inspiring architecture. Nothing.

Nothing but the homeliness of love and kindness and acceptance and support. Nothing but family. Come to think of it, though, that's what church is. The family, not the building. Made beautiful by the presence of the Lord.

Those basketball goals never looked so good.

--Unwrapped with Emily at Chatting at the Sky