| Bonnie Kristian thought that she would live in Minnesota for the rest of her life. But she’s about to put her home on the market, pack up her family, and relocate to Pennsylvania.
In her new article, “Act as if You Are Staying in a Community Forever—Even When You’re Not,” Kristian speaks with author Grace Olmstead whose new book Uprooted speaks to “community and belonging, farming practices and food sources, land policy and evolving mores, and whether it’s possible to remain or return home in a culture that often equates transience (‘You’ll go far!’) with success.”
Whether you pray every night that your children will grow up and buy a house next door, or you dream of them adventuring around the world, Kristian and Olmstead encourage a virtuous approach to place. We can disciple our children to understand the difference between restlessness and calling, or laziness and intentional staying, empowering them to make decisions in their adult lives that lead to their flourishing and the flourishing of their communities.
Uprooting, transplanting, staying—it can all be deeply hard and deeply good. With the power of the Holy Spirit, we, like the Israelites in exile so long ago, can seek the peace of the places in which we dwell. |
