Coming Home

A year and a half ago I wrote about our new home in a new city. I had placed a lot of hope in something that I knew was not quite right for us, but wanted it to be. We went through some pretty rough times there. Mostly from dealing with a landlord that could not afford to maintain upkeep on the house. Some scary moments, many headaches, and a lot of stress ensued. We finally decided to call it quits, but didn't know where to go. We love the city we are in, but rent varies depending on what part we reside in. Also, for a family of 7 that refuses to give up their 2 dogs and 3 cats, it was tough trying to find a new home big enough that would allow pets. 

One night I went to a crochet and craft club meeting that I didn't really want to go to. My good friend Lori convinced me that I should go and have some fun. I went, and met a really sweet woman by the name of Janet. Janet told me that she was moving out of her great big dream home and into a smaller home to accommodate her health conditions. I asked her about the home and found out that it was nearly 2x the size of our current home. Well, one thing led to another and about four days later we were visiting Janet in her home to take the grand tour. 

One month later, we find ourselves in our new home. It is so beautiful, and it actually feels like we are home. We in the front of a pecan orchard on top of a hill. Large columns grace the bricked front porch, walkways are lined with roses and camellias, and everything smells like fresh air and crushed leaves. I will post pictures soon, but I wanted to share with you the biggest secret that I have learned from all of this. 

Sometimes it takes a long journey to get to a destination, and it's not always on the path that you had planned. Thinking back to the places my husband and I have lived, the moves and choices we've made, we really just wanted someplace that we could call "home" for a while here on earth. Home has so many meanings behind it, but for us it was an elusive term. Every time we moved away, I never had a feeling of "I'm going to miss this place." It was just another house, never a home. Now, however, I can't imagine leaving here. We've found our little piece of Heaven on Earth. 

I'm sure we'll have our ups and downs, but I love this house. It's our family home. Through every move and lesson learned, I realized that God has shown us the value of knowing home. Even though my real home will be in life after death, I will enjoy our little Eden for now. I love coming home. Our kids call it "home," not "the house." I can only hope that it will last for a very long time. After 15 years of searching, we've finally found home. Oh, and did I mention that we still have our dogs and cats? How much better can life get?