Reason #446

I remember the day I came home and all of my furniture was gone. It was rough. I walked into an empty house. It was winter, so it was already cold but the fact that there was nothing in my house made it feel even colder. I had a mirror and some living room furniture and that was it. I allowed myself about 2 minutes to cry and then I dried it up. It was just stuff, after all. And over the next few months, I picked out some new furniture that fit my taste to a T and redecorated my house exactly the way I wanted it.

 

There hasn’t been a year of my life in the past 7 years that I haven’t moved. Whether it’s moving from one new place to another or simply just moving furniture around, I’ve moved a lot. A few weeks ago, Aaron and I bought new furniture because guess what time it is… it’s moving time! And so boxes have been packed, the back room is full of his things, and I’ve got to find a new place for some of my stuff. I’ll give credit where credit is due and say I haven’t been the one doing as much moving this time. Anyway, I suppose moving every year keeps you on your toes but I’m hoping this will be the last move for a long, long, long time. We agreed that the next move will only take place if someone is packing and moving our things for us.

 

I walked into the back room the other day and it smelled different. You know, everyone has that particular smell in their house. That scent that lets you know where you are. If someone blindfolded me and took me inside my parents’ house, I’d know right away. Same goes with my grandparents’ house, too. And so the back room had this interesting combination of the smells from my house and Aaron’s apartment. I’m not sure whose is going to win out, so we’ll see in a few weeks. But it was nice. Nice to be sharing my space with someone again. To have a full house again rather than a half empty one. Most of all, it’s nice to know that this stuff is there to stay and isn’t going anywhere.

 

I’ve talked about the Israelites a lot, and although the Lord hasn’t technically taken me to the desert and let me wander around for a while, metaphorically speaking, He has. The Israelites had a home. Granted, they were enslaved but they still had a home. They had their possessions set up just the way they liked them, with everything having its place, and within a day they were headed out of there. They got to take some things with them, but I doubt they took everything. And then for 40 years they wandered. The desert was their home. Don’t you know they lost a lot of their things during that time, too? After all, who wants to keep up with or, for that matter, even keep lugging around stuff they don’t really need anymore in the desert? But the whole purpose of them being in the desert was to get them to their new home. A forever home. A place that the Lord had promised them. A land where milk and honey flowed. A beautiful, sweet, abundant place where they could live in freedom and not fear. And so, although, they had to lose a few things to get there, there was so much to gain once they arrived. The Lord had even better things waiting for them.

 

I’m getting close to arriving. A forever home is only weeks away. And although loss can be hard, it blows my mind that the Lord would allow me to gain so much more than what was taken. But that’s just the goodness of God. He always has better things waiting for us if we’re just faithful to follow Him to where He is leading us. And when He has gone before you to prepare a place for you, you can bet that it is breathtakingly beautiful and will be everything your heart hoped for and more!

 

#446 – For the home He has prepared for me... forever!

 

"Tears of joy will stream down their faces, and I will lead them home with great care. They will walk beside quiet streams and on smooth paths where they will not stumble." - Jeremiah 31:9