Day 10 - Today I am so thankful for my house!

I've been gone for the last couple of days at a wonderful, relaxing scrapbook retreat.  It was a great time with Gwen and Susie and some other wonderful women.  A time of laughing, talking, eating, talking, listening, talking, scrapping, eating, sleeping, swimming, resting, talking ........   well, you get the idea!  At any rate, it was FUN!!!  The time away was a break from the routine and from my new job.  I accomplished a lot of scrapbooking - 56 pages!  Yet, it was a calming, restful time. 

When I pulled up to the house, I was struck by a powerful wave of gratitude and thankfulness for my home!  Ken and I are so blessed to have this house.  We bought this house 36 years ago.  We were young and never expected to be here for even 10 years.  We brought Gwen and Doug home from the hospital here.  We have celebrated birthdays and holidays and graduations here.  Circumstances have kept us in this house, but more than that, we have been BLESSED in this house.  When you see the statistics that less than 28% of homes are OWNED with no debt, it seems miraculous that we have accomplished that.  And it was not because of great planning on our part.  As a matter of fact, it was a real roller coaster over the years.  But Jesus provided this home, and he enabled us to get through those ups and downs and that long twisting path that has led us to this day. 

Our house is very small.  There were some years that our house felt VERY crowded.  I always regretted that we did not have a place for our kids to play. But now I am beginning to understand what a blessing it was that we had to stay physically close.  This weekend, listening to Gwen talking to Susie about her growing up years, blessed my heart.  And now (other than the stairs) this house is perfect for Ken and I. 

Even as I was writing this I was hearing - a house is just a building - but the people and the memories make a home! I am thankful for this "HOME" but I am also thankful for the building that houses us! Yep, it changes your perspective when you think about all of the "stuff" that is important to us, that could be gone in an instant.  I've been thinking about the terrible cyclone that hit the Philippines. And then there are hurricanes, tornado's, fires, floods that could take away these things.  But, in all of this, I know who is in charge of everything!  It is really a comfort to know that everything that I have is really just a gift provided to me by Jesus.

I encourage you today to be thankful for all of the "stuff" that fills your life.  Be thankful for your "home" as well as your "house"!  And take time to celebrate all the people in your life that make those amazing memories. 

Jesus, thank you for your provision for everything in my life.   In fact, thank you for my life!  Holy Spirit, thank you for reminding me that even in my thankfulness for my physical house, the most important part of the building is the people and the memories.  Jesus, thank you for blessing my children with wonderful families, with great memories, and exactly the right houses for them.  Holy Spirit, bring comfort and courage and great faith to all those effected by the cyclone in the Phillipines.  Pour out your blessings on your people!  Thank you.  Amen