Home Is Where My People Are
Alabamians are known for many things, some of which are commendable. We are a polite, friendly, and hard-working people. We consume vast quantities of sweet tea, and speak with a highly distinctive accent. Our religious zeal for college football is barely, and only barely, eclipsed by our passion for Jesus. Finally, and usually for less commendable reasons, folks in Alabama are known for their undying gratitude to God for Mississippi.
Sophie Hudson, however, is an Alabamian who loves Mississippi for a good reason. It was her first home, the place where her journey of life and faith began. In her lovely memoir, Home is Where My People Are, Sophie shares her story of how a young Methodist from Myrtlewood, Mississippi became a Baptist blogger in Birmingham. It is a delightful story, one free of the tiresome whining often found in memoirs of faith. Her relationship with God began in one church home, grew throughout her college years, and she now comfortably resides among us in the land of the SBC (Southern Baptist Convention). Although her stories are entertaining and her writing is fun, Sophie’s story is one of substance. God was with her when she was a child, a teenager, a young woman, and now as a wife and mother. There are no moments of newsworthy crisis, no extraordinary events or heroic deeds. It is simply the story of a southern girl living an ordinary life with God. And it is wonderful.
Had Sophie’s denominational trajectory moved in the opposite direction, the heart of her story would remain unchanged. Our spiritual homes are not defined by physical architecture, worship styles, or even our doctrinal orientation. Our spiritual home is any place where we share faith in and life with one another. It may be Mission Hill United Methodist in Mississippi, a college dorm, a hospital room, or any gathering of two or more in which Jesus stands in the midst thereof. God is our Father, and home is where His people are.
-Darrel Holcombe, Owner
Sanctuary Christian Books and Gifts
Colonial Promenade, Alabaster
