comforts of 'home'

i took myself to target and michaels this afternoon. kid-less. and ready to find good deals. girls were napping. husband was drafting, as in fantasy football. it was the strangest thing, i stepped out of the car at target and their parking lot air smelled like laundry. i don't mean the stinky kind, but when the dryer is fluffing a bunch of smell good clean clothes. it was a fresh scent with maybe a hint of lavender? maybe the air was trying to tell me where i should really be and what i should really be doing. hmm...then again, maybe not. *wink.

i've been christmas shopping already and have the impulses to start wrapping what i've purchased. then it would be a fun surprise to me as i give the gifts to their recipients. i will have forgotten what i wrapped four months prior. and it seems convenient for packing purposes. speaking of packing, we will probably be getting the ball rolling very soon on getting our house ready to sell. i suppose an appraisal would be a good first step.

i love this house. i love the character it holds. the warmth it gives off. the story it tells. the memories it makes on a daily basis. honestly, i've been having a hard time now and again with the thought of leaving it behind. knowing it's a perfect little house for us. it offers everything we could need. after all, it is our 'first' home together. getting our picture taken out front standing next to the "for sale" sign. being the first house we walked through with our realtor and knowing that this is it. completing projects to make it our own. bringing our girls home to safety and comfort. fellowshiping a many of times with friends and family. hosting parties. praying together. dancing. singing. worshiping as one under this roof. it's been so much to us. it's done so much for us.

but to remember there is so much more to come.

with or without these four walls.

soon, i just might have a dishwasher. i might get a laundry area on the main floor, that isn't looming in the darkness of a dungeon. and maybe not as many spiders and dust bunnies that come with an older house. i might not be signing a check as big as the mortgage for city bills. (ok, i don't do that now...but seriously, it gets ridiculous at times) jacob won't spend his summer days chopping wood in the depths of a tree-filled forest to supply warmth for the winter. but strangely, this will probably make him sad. there are very few advantages to not owning a home, but they come as mostly comforts. comforts of cost. and comforts of possible newer accommodations.

in the end, the end of all of this, i know my true comfort comes in the reality of my true home. a place that is not earthly. a place i don't need to worry about warmth and energy costs. about character found in the structure or whether i use my hands to wash dishes or a machine that does it for me. my true comfort dwells in my God. my God that dwells in heaven.

with that, i pray for the next owners of this house. that they will feel the Spirit that is residing here now. i pray they have a desire to walk through the front door and immediately feel peace. and love. and know that they are home. it means a lot to me. knowing that whoever it may be will find the same joy that i experienced making this place special to our family. may they have fun in the process of calling it and making it theirs. may God bless them in this home.

and for the next four years, wherever our next earthly home will be, we will make it just as before. warm. inviting. peaceful. ours. God will be in it. i believe He is already preparing that place for us. just as He is preparing our place in heaven.