i am learning as i interact in dissonance with different people than myself that i am a deep dweller. i dwell in my thoughts, i dwell on my situation, i dwell on things i care about. i dwindle and dilly dally and am convinced that by the practice of self-examen i will somehow gain something.
i'm not sure what the connection is between the acting of "dwelling" and the "dwelling-place" where we dwell, but it makes me think of the concept of being home. home is a place of profound but uncomplicated safety, welcome, warmth, protection, shelter, rest, communion, and play. home is where pretenses are shed and burdens are set aside to carve out a sacred space of communing. if i tease apart the word "commune," i think of the act of "coming together" - it is an active coming "towards" and is warm with the potential hope of embrace and connection. it paints a stark picture when compared with the act of turning away, of rejection, exclusion, and isolation. and so with the former image in mind, jesus is to be my home. when i am homeless, cast out by friends and family, rejected or scorned, i am to find my home in the wounds and life of jesus even as he finds a home in my heart. he is to be my dwelling place; just as he has created me to be a "dwelling thinker" and to be someone who places great value in healthy and thriving friendships (as evidenced by my frenzied agitation when denied this), i can be certain that i can also use these characteristics to both dwell on jesus and to invest in a relationship with him characterized by great depth.