an essay on home

I love home. 

What does home mean to me? What image do I conjure up in my mind when I think of home? 

I imagine a cozy, quaint place that is warm, beautiful but simple. A place where love flows freely. A place where words of encouragement are spoken and life is breathed into those who enter. 

I imagine a place where the dwellers feel free to be themselves. Guards can be dropped. Feet can be kicked back. Weary bodies can toss themselves onto the sofa and cozy up under a well-worn quilt. 

A place where laughter is real. Where learning happens all of the time. Where good thoughts are shared and discussed. Where life is lived fully and where joy prevails.

This is what I strive for, this is what I want for our home. And me, as a wife and mother, well, I have such an awesome opportunity to influence the atmosphere of our home. This is my office. This is my place of work. This is my opportunity to shine as I foster an environment that encourages growth physically, mentally, and spiritually for my family and all who visit. 

What an awesome privilege that is! 

So instead of complaining about the never-ending laundry, I need to thank God for the healthy bodies that wear all of that clothing.

Instead of dreading washing the dishes again, I need to praise God for the food He has so graciously and extravagantly provided. The food that fills those plates three times a day, that fills our bellies full. 

And the messes that scatter so easily around the house? Oh those can test me. But those little messes were made by the ones that are dearest to my heart. I want to be thankful that I have these beautiful children who are healthy enough to be up and making messes. And I need to be thankful that I have the opportunity to teach my children to be responsible, clean-up after themselves, and contribute to our home's well-being. 

I enjoy home. I enjoy keeping my home. I used to think that it was sinful to want a beautiful home (note that I do not mean large, filled with extravagant things, or magazine-worthy) for my family. But I now realize that God put that creative desire within me, that love for beauty, the attention to the aesthetics. God made me that way. And, of course, I could use those desires in sinful ways, but I can also choose to embrace them and make my home a dwelling that quenches the thirst of dry souls, that replenishes the spiritual tanks of those who enter, that inspires others to seek the beautiful and simple things of God. 

I am so thankful that God has enabled me to be a keeper of my home. I am thankful that He has shown me the importance of making our home a shelter to my family and others.

Lord, open my eyes up to the great privilege You have blessed me with to be a keeper of our home. Thank you for our home. Thank you for those that fill it. May it be used for Your glory, and may all who enter feel surrounded by Your love and grace.

gratitude through the lens

I most certainly don't want to make this a whining session, but last night I was feeling a bit sorry for myself and a bit discouraged. I was upset that I was sick with another sinus infection, that Ian was feeling so ill, and that what (in my mind) should be a hot and humid July (it is summer, after all) really felt like a cool day in October requiring jeans and sweaters. (Hey, I look forward to our three months of hot weather here in the northeast.) And then I was frustrated that we didn't have water again; that we were probably going to have to dump a bunch of money into a new water pump (we seem to average one pump every two summers.) 

And then the sun started to shine just as it was beginning it's deep descent down to the horizon. Any photographer knows that this is the perfect time for photos, the light just right at this angle. So I grabbed my camera and set out to view gratitude through the lens.

I will say that it was quite an effective exercise in thankfulness. I was reminded of all of the beauty and wonder that surround us out here in the country. I felt peace as I sat in the pasture with my alpacas, listening to them hum and munch on the grass. The chickens pecking at my nail-polished toes made me laugh (how could I not, those silly hens.) Picking up the day's eggs filled me with wonder and awe and thankfulness for this small provision of sustenance.

I felt so incredibly grateful for all of the homegrown vegetables and herbs we have growing in our backyard, and so thankful for the plentiful land that we have to grow it all on. The surprise sunflowers that popped up in our landscaping (seeds left over from the winter's bird feed) really made me smile, and I won't dare tear those out even though their rooting place is a bit random. 

I was thankful for a hard-working husband who also happens to be very handy at many things. I was thankful for my dad, brother-in-law and a neighbor who came to help pull our 215-feet-deep pump up out of the earth. I was thankful for God's provision of money to cover the expenses (a provision that came unexpectedly and surprisingly.) 

I felt much more at peace when I finished the little gratitude photo shoot. Focusing on blessings and the beauty right there around me gave me such peace and assurance in the faithfulness of my Heavenly Father. I was, once again, reminded of the importance of gratitude in every day life. There are always blessings. Sometimes it just takes an intentional heart and eye to see them.