The all encompassing description of home as a safe place, the haven for family, a place where we are always welcome or where we establish roots, speaks of an earthly home. It reminds me of the answer one of my students gave me when we studied “homes” in Social Studies. But what seems so simple betrays what believers know to be so much more – it’s a pull heavenward.

For the last month, I have had the pleasure of being part of Kate Motaung’s launch team for her new memoir, A Place to Land. Her story is one of seeking home and the discovery of where home really is. I loved everything about Kate’s book and her writing style displayed transparency, and honesty as she drew the reader in with her easy storytelling style.

Many of us marvel at life stories that are layered so thick you wonder how the person ever survived the trials. But Kate does not have a single bone of pretentiousness in her body as she simply shares her message of home.

Kate’s story takes the reader on a journey between Michigan and South Africa. Besides the challenge of cultural differences, Kate shares the story of her life spanning her parents’ divorce, her mom’s terminal cancer, how she discovered her passion for mission work, her marriage and the arrival of her children.

After traveling to Honduras during a college Spring Break, there is a shift in Kate’s spirit as she reframes the idea of home. She says…

I felt as if the body I’d known my whole life had been missing limbs all along. I now saw that the perimeter of home as I knew it was far too exclusive. Too much the same. It was time to break down some walls to let more of God’s people in. Even if some of the breaking involved my own heart.

In our lives, we find the idea of home is reframed as we experience loss, additions to the family, or changes in addresses. But we confine ourselves if we only think in terms of the earthly realm. Do you feel a pull heavenward and if so, what does that look like?

As Kate continued to feel the tug toward missions, she changed colleges and her focus. She intentionally chose summer work that reflected her new found heart for serving people. Soon her dream to go to South Africa turned into reality. What I loved about Kate’s journey through the many highs and lows was the evolution of her understanding of home.

After living in a women’s shelter for a summer, Kate gained this new understanding:

Home should be held loosely–not as a right, but as a gift. A precious gift from the hand of God, who gives a sweet bite of home now as a foretaste of what is to come.

A Place to Land touched me on so many different levels. I shared Kate’s grief over the loss of her mom as I remembered my own mom. Kate shares her heart for serving others and it is something that burns within my heart too. I don’t need to travel the world to know that God loves using us for His glory. It is just a matter of saying “yes”. And Kate does this beautifully.

By the end of the book, we know that God always determines the place we will land. As we hold tight to our earthly home, God releases our fingers one by one and we find our true home is a pull heavenward.

Kate leaves us with this:

Then, finally, I understood. This whole life is a rental. This whole body of mine is a borrowed house. And it’s a good thing to be discontent with where we are, because this is not it. It’s a good thing to feel like we’re not at home and to long for another, for permanence, for stability, because we’re not home yet.

[Tweet “Come on over to read a book review of A Place to Land by Kate Motaung &enter to win.”]

Enter to win one of two signed copies of Kate Motaung’s book, A Place to Land, by leaving a comment with the answer to this question:

Do you feel a pull heavenward and if so, what does that look like?

I will randomly choose two winners this Friday, March 23. Bonus points for sharing this post on social media. Let me know what platforms you used to share this post. Good luck!!! (Open to participants in the U.S. only)

Kate’s book launches on April 2. Her words blessed me deeply. I pray you make time for the words in her book. It will be worth every second. Click HERE to gain instant access to the first chapter of the book.

You can order a copy of A Place to Land, HERE. (affiliate link included)

Blessings,

You may find me linking up at these lovely blogs this week.

 

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