Don’t you just love when a book is really thought provoking? I am reading “This is Where You Belong” by Melody Warnick as part of the Everyday Reading book club.
This book is all about falling in love with your town. I picked this up feeling a little unsure. I love in the town that I grew up in. But, we didn’t really move here by choice. It was move back and live with my parents for a short time, or be homeless. I love living near family. This town is safe and nice and all of that, but I never wanted to move back.
Melody wrote a chapter called “Buy Local” that has really resonated with me. I’ve always loved supporting local business and small shops, but never really put much thought into it. When you shop at a big box store, most of the money you spend doesn’t stay in your area. It climbs up the corporate ladder and doesn’t benefit your area at all. When you buy something at a local shop, most of that many stays in your town. The tax dollars improve your roads and give you better schools. You are supporting someone that you get to know very well.
A day or two after reading this chapter, we needed to get our oil changed. I called the local auto shops. The first one was completely booked. The next one squeezed me in between two appointments. I was so grateful. He even let me know that one of our other fluids was a little low, and that he’d order it and would top it off for me once it came in.
We have a candy shop in town that the girls and I stop in when we are going for walks. One day that we stopped in, I was buying some things for my mom who had just had knee replacement surgery. Addison told the woman behind the counter what we were doing. This lady put colorful ribbons on everything and bright tissue paper to make it look like a present. It may not seem like a big deal, but it meant the world to me.
Small businesses care. They want your business. They will get to know you. They will know your likes and dislikes.
I am really enjoying this book. Where we live may not be a permanent address, but I can learn to love it while we are here. I can invest myself in where I am. So can you.
I’ve always had the attitude in the back of my mind of “well, we’ll probably move soon anyway, so why get attached?” While it is true that in youth ministry, it’s common to move more often than most other jobs, that doesn’t mean I need to keep everyone and everything at arms length.
It’s ok to get attached. It’s ok to love where I am for the time being. I love that this book has challenged me and given me tangible ways to love where I am. I encourage you to pick this book up at your library or purchase it and pass it on when you are done! It’s such a great read!