BRANCHES September 2015

wHEn YOU'RE HERE,
You , re
home
bY winnie winfORd
“Winnie, do you live at the Lodge?” a sweet eighth-grader
asked me recently. While I am happy to say I have a home
cottage here in Huntsville that is not also my place of work,
I was thrilled to receive such a question—thrilled because
this means that a High-Life student views the Lodge as a
place that could be a home … and indeed it is.
Southwood members had a heart to build the lodge
11 years ago with one specific purpose: to be a home
to the students of Huntsville. The Lodge has happily
hosted events from wedding receptions and small group
gatherings to high school wrestling banquets and birthday
parties and, of course, the annual Christmas spectacular,
Fa La Lodge. But it is home to the youth of this city.
What does home mean to you? When you hear the word
“home,” what images, smells, memories and feelings rise up
in your soul?
Growing up in the Air Force, I was able to live in many different
houses, but they all felt like home. While it might have taken a
while after each move to get the furniture set or put the dishes
in the kitchen, every house was a home instantly because of the
people I was blessed to share the house with. We had shared
memories, a deep love for one another and acceptance. I
knew that no matter how many times my sister got mad at
me, I would still be her sister. I felt secure and at rest. This is
why when I hear the word “home,” I instantly picture my dad
ironing his fatigues every Sunday night, I hear the sounds of
my sister listening to Full House while she was reading, and I
smell peanut blossoms baking at Christmas time.
I encourage you to say the words “The Lodge” to a student
at Southwood and watch their face react as they communicate
to you the love and joy they have experienced in the building
you have provided and set apart for them.
The elders of Southwood and adult leaders of High-Life have
always aimed for the Lodge to be a “kingdom environment”—a
place where the kingdom of God is felt and advanced—
because it is a home where a student or parent may walk in
and feel security and acceptance right where they are. High-
Life has several values that are at the core of what it is as a
ministry, and all of these core values are constantly being
lived out together in the Lodge. Here’s a brief look at how
our core values of Kingdom Environments, Prayer, Partnership,
The Word, Presence, and Servanthood and Good Works are
continuing to take place this fall at the Southwood Lodge.
4 SEPTEMBER 2015 | SOUTHWOOD.ORG