Hold on, to me as we go
As we roll down this unfamiliar road
And although this wave is stringing us along
Just know you’re not alone
‘Cause I’m going to make this place your home
–Phiilip Phillips, “Home”
Have you ever been in a circumstance where the blessing placed in your lap is so good, so deeply, amazingly, good that you are almost afraid to blink, lest it should somehow dissolve into dream?
That’s where my heart lives right now.
I haven’t mentioned it on this blog, because honestly, even saying it out loud felt like a level of vulnerability I haven’t been able to allow myself. But… we are buying a house. A house! The story of our even finding out about this place is nothing but a gift from God, let alone our being able to qualify for a mortgage as home-based missionaries.
This is a perfect home for us, dream place. When we saw it, it was as if our family somehow already lived there. A bedroom for Momma and Daddy. A boys’ bedroom. A girls’ bedroom. A reading nook in a sunny window. A living room perfectly made for family worship and read alouds and endless nights of Settlers. Some land to run. The best set of swings ever. A spot for chickens.
1,800 square feet of just-right.
I am thrilled. And happy. Really happy.
I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that my flesh wants to cringe just a little at all this happy. I’d by lying if I didn’t admit that I have waited for the rug to be yanked out from under us at nearly every step. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I have to keep reminding myself that God’s lessons aren’t always born of disappointment, or loss, or sacrifice.
Sometimes, He gives us good gifts just because.
This is one of those gifts. And it’s a gift wrapped in a present and tied up with a blessing.
Babita will, God willing, join us in this place. All of our people, all under one roof. A gift.
A slightly-quirky, deliciously non-cookie cutter home of just the right size. A present.
A little slice of property–a dream I had given up on– perfect for a huge garden, a couple of clotheslines, and watching my kids grow. A blessing.
After a broken dream, after 19 months of regaining our feet … a home.
A place to continue to shout, “He is good!” A place to stage the work that will encourage believers on other continents. A place to offer the peaceful comfort of some scruffy hospitality. A place to return to at the end of it all to rest in the bosom of the family God created. The stuff that really matters.
We could do all of this anywhere, of course. God didn’t have to give us an address of our own, but He is. And we are so, so grateful.
Exciting!