The nostalgia of home — I started feeling the pull and presence of home as we entered Tennessee. And as we crossed the state, it intensified. Is it the pines? The landscape? The people? The dialect? I’ve been gone so long yet still there is a power, a familiarity, a pull that presents itself as I return to my roots.

I also am feeling drawn to the state that has made its presence and power known to this country, being one of the swing states that swung in favor of change during the presidential election. And it is positioned to continue that trajectory as the battle for Senate seats moves to a run-off election in January. Not only national attention, but momentum, energy, and hope are centered on Georgia right now. Stacey Abrams has awed and inspired me and I have never felt quite as proud of my ability to claim Georgia as I have in recent weeks.

And with the returning towards all these roots comes familiarity of people…more deep relationships for connection, more driveways and alleyways and generous breaking of bread. Oh, how I have longed for the depth of these relationships; to feel so known and to know. I can rest, I can name the unnamed, I can retell and redeem, I can wrestle with the challenging. More than the pine trees that stretch across the south, I am grateful for the pathway of relationships I have gotten to experience. Manna for our journey.