Our Home

Spring is by far my favorite season. It is just so evident how He makes all things new...how He is making me new. I have not gotten the chance to blog in a long time. Partly because my life has been full. Partly because in the newness that He is creating...I just needed to "be".

A lot has changed since the last blog. First of all...the kids and I have moved back to Nashville!!!!! And the last reason I have not blogged is that I did not want the world to know that my husband was not with us...but he GRADUATES FROM SEMINARY ON FRIDAY!!!! He is coming here tomorrow and then as a family we will go back to St. Louis for the big day. I am so proud of that man. He has juggled so much while being a full time seminary student, working at our church, and loving our family well. The time at Covenant flew by but was filled with many friends, memories, and teaching that I don't think will ever leave us....seminary just seems to be that way.

In the meantime...I have been busy trying to make our new house into a home. We had to sell a house...find a house...buy a house...and move all during a short period of time. Picture this...on a Wednesday, my two friends drove by a house that was going to be put up for auction on that Saturday. They called me and said that they had found our new home. Our old home in Nashville was just that, a home...full of neighbors...full of kids...full of laughter and love...and we hoped we would never move. But, after the adoption it became clear we had outgrown it. So the Lord had/has something else in store. We went to the auction and what we experienced was only the Lord....no other answer. This house is minutes from the church with lots of land...our farm house. Given...at the auction I was a little in shock at the amount of work that was going to be needed and a little in shock at the sheer beauty of the property. And before the auction began we looked out in the crowd and thought there was no way....no way we would end up with the home. The auctioneer began...my husband bid...another bidder bid...my husband bid again....going once...going twice...NO ONE ELSE BID...sold...at a third of appraisal! The realtor and I were left standing and tears were rolling down both our faces.

I need to back up...my husband had been praying for months and months and months that the home that the Lord had for us would have land so that we could have tons and tons of people over all the time for ministry....that our home would be a haven for youth....for families....for strangers. That swarms of people would feel welcome all the time to come over and just "be". That is his heart...that is my heart. Hospitality is our joy and honor.

So...as soon as the kids and I moved in...I began the work. (well myself and LOTS of help) Not a toilet worked...yet they were full...yuck. Not an appliance worked...but my uncle happened to have an extra set of appliances in my grandmother's garage...I am not kidding. Most of the walls were painted black...not really my style. Everyday I had to laugh as to what would happen next...one day it was the railing totally falling over...then another no air....and yet I have LOVED it! We look out onto seven acres....with a horse barn....and a wrap around porch. It is beautiful and we know it is a gift. But, now it is only a house.

On Saturday May 5, 2010 devastation hit Nashville. The flood that hit our community was and still is a MONUMENTAL LOSS. Many...more than many...have lost everything....everything. It is hard to even comprehend the loss that some are facing. When you go into these areas to help it is mind boggling. The debris, the smell, the sheer number is hard to even wrap your head around what is before you. And for so many it was not the stuff that mattered it was what made their house a home that mattered. The things that you can not put a price tag on hurt so much to lose...family pictures, children's drawings, sentimental trinkets. Those were all lost...some even lost their lives. It looked like something out of a movie....but these were and are real people dealing with pain and hurt.

The flood has brought the community together in an incredible way. People volunteering round the clock....tearing out dry wall, making trips to the dump, cooking meals, doing laundry, donating to relief funds, hugging someone who just needs to cry. This is community. It has made me proud of Nashvillians and thankful for many who have come to help from around the country. I heard something at church today that has stuck in my mind. "For those who have witnessed the homes that lost everything....you can testify that only the foundation remained...and yet it brings us back to the question. Where does our foundation remain?" Where does my foundation remain? My foundation remains with my Savior Jesus Christ. That is really all that matters.

For months I prayed for the new family that would live in our old home that I loved so much. The home where I rocked my babies...the home where I was restored. The woman buying my home was a missionary with her husband. They were missionaries in Africa. Africa of all places...my child...my heart. He was killed in Africa. I have never met her nor do I know her. But, my prayer for that home was...Lord Jesus bring the family you have chosen for a time of restoration. I will continue to pray for her until she is truly home in heaven with her Maker and her husband.

What makes a house a home is the messiness of living. The playing, the laughing, the crying, and the praying. Our new house did not flood. And right now it is still a house. But, last week there were fourteen kids running around...riding Barbie jeeps...eating goldfish...building Lego castles. And this week four high school sophomore boys came by just to check in and play with my little ones. Well...maybe my husband is coming back tomorrow to not a house but a home.

Please continue to join me in prayer for the thousands who lost their homes because of the flood.

Psalm 40:1-3

I waited patiently on the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire;

he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.