Source: The Health Connection Newsletter | 3rd Quarter 2025
Since I was born, my family has moved 23 times. Houses, towns, cities, countries -including Ukraine. But then the full-scale war came, and immediately, my wife and daughters became refugees, our parents stayed in Russia, and we became separated by borders, frontlines, and the distance. At that moment, I began to ask myself: where is my real home? And what is it? Tough question for the minister in the middle of a war. As the people we have need in safety. And home is the very first place satisfying this need.
Dr Papadopolous, a British expert in “refugee science”, explains that the term “home” means “four-in-one”: your loved ones, your place of living, your job, and your inner sense of home and comfort. At a minimum, 3 out of 4 will give you a sense of safety. Refugees suffering from “nostalgic disorientation” – dreaming about “just to return as it was before the war”. It means you are dreaming about a past that is destroyed. But you need to look forward – over the horizon of war. Jacob, son of Isaac, left his home because of safety reasons – his domestic war has “exacerbated”. Uprooted, crushed with guilt, smashed by obstacles, he ran away from an unsafe “sweet home”. He goes to sleep in the middle of nowhere, so frustrated that even a stone as a pillow was comfortable for him. But in that dark night of his life, our Blessed Lord opened to him the secret of true “sweet home” meaning.
“Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!” But he was also afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!” Gen. 28:16-17, NLT
Imagine, he wasn’t aware! That home is where God is, and heaven’s gates are always open in the middle of the dark nights of your personal life and deep dark challenges of your family. And angels are here in their sacred mission duties to help you in your ministry and mission duties. Although Eden’s garden was evacuated because of war many years ago, it’s still our heavenly home. I want to inspire every resident of this suffering planet Earth. Either you lose home, relationships, family, job, and internal peace, or the kingdom of heaven is within you. Daily, open your soul to Him. And a home feeling will immediately appear — right inside of you. Build a relationship with Him through prayer and Scripture. It will be imprinted in your very neurons. Imagine, Lord’s mansion in your soul. Home is where God is. Wherever you go, travel, sail, or fly, remember this.
