UPFRONT September 17, 2007 Issue

Where do we belong?

KIM SHIPPEY, SENIOR WRITER

Immigration has always been a topic of importance and concern to people and governments everywhere. It has provoked fierce political debate and led to bloodshed and war. It has also kept people out of harm's way and saved lives.

Many of us have either lived out a migration story or can trace our roots back to ancestors who have traveled from one land to another. My grandparents on both sides were immigrants. And I have lived and worked in three countries and held citizenship in them all. I've felt completely at home in each of them, thanks in part to the insights provided by my study of Christian Science, which has taught me that I can never leave "the garden of the Lord" where "joy and gladness" are found, "thanksgiving, and the voice of melody" (Isa. 51:3).

Sometimes it's helpful to consider your own personal migration and candidly ask yourself: Am I living in the place where I was born? If I've moved, why? How many times have I moved? And, Where was God in all this?

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