I remember being a young kid and hearing a knock at the front door. There stood this elderly woman that we did not know. She asked if she could come inside and look around the house, said this was the home she grew up in. I remember my parents letting her in and us kids watching her as she walked around our old farmhouse, her mind clearly filling with old memories as she peered in each and every room. I remember thinking that I wondered what that must feel like, to come back there after all those years.
The other day I drove through my hometown with my daughter on our way to a playdate. I decided to drive her past my old house. It is truly amazing the feelings that return when you see your old house, driveway, porch and yard. Despite the unfamiliar cars in the driveway and strange furniture that you can see through the windows, it still feels as if you can drive up, park your car, hop out and waltz right through the backdoor to see your mom in the kitchen, your dad in the living room and the loud bustle of 5 active kids doing their thing. Home. Even after all these years of being away, it's still home.
People say it is not the four walls of a house that create the memories, but rather the love of the people inside them to make it a home. Of course I believe that to be true, but I would also argue that those four walls contain value and memory. If I walked through our old house, I imagine the wooden floors would speak to me of hosting us kids and our sliding contests in our slippery socks to blaring Christmas music, the large old floor vents would offer up the warm memory of us girls fluffing up our nightgowns as we stood over them on those chilly winter nights and mornings. The upstairs bathroom would remember four girls getting ready each morning, fighting for warm shower water and mirror time! The screened in porch would reminisce about the giggles of my younger brother and sister during their sleepovers outside on warm summer nights. The "middle yard" as we called it, would speak of kind neighbors who more or less allowed us to share that portion of their yard as our own for kickball, tag, red rover and an ice rink for our "ice shows" in the winter time. The big old tree out front that we loved to climb on as we waited for the school bus, but weren't technically allowed to because it was too close to the busy road. Gosh, as I sit here and think about it, there is not a square inch of that house or yard that does not contain a memory. Memories that wrote the story of my childhood. The happy memories and the sad memories. I remember sitting on the floor with my sisters near the edge of our bedroom and my mom brushing our hair after a bath as we learned of her mother's passing. The ups and downs of life. Memories. Home.
I think Miranda Lambert sums up the feelings that my siblings and I have for 245 Mason in her song "The House that Built me". None of us can hear that song, without thinking of our childhood home. In the end, it was the unconditional love of our family that made that place so special. The unconditional love that we all still hold for eachother and is always understood - even through the most difficult of times.
I love the memories that my childhood home contains. If those walls could speak.....! In a strange way, I think they miss us just as much as we miss them. :)
Monday, March 19, 2012
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Lukewarm
There are days when going back to work seems like a wonderful, relaxing vacation I would like to be on! Yesterday was one of those days. I should have known I was set up for disaster as I shook the creamer for my morning coffee and realized that someone had not securely closed the cap after they used it last. Creamer sprayed all over me, the counter and the floor. Awesome. These are the days where every task seems just a bit overwhelming to me. Not sure why. The normally laid back twins are instead crawling up my legs to be held, chucking the toys they are playing with because they are tired of them and screaming bloody murder whenever I go out of their sight. Days where Addison wanders the house with a look of total boredom. Yeah, it's February in Michigan and we are in a rut!!
This winter hasn't been long and neither has it been very cold. Yet still, this time of year I find myself longing for something. A vacation would be nice. Some place warm and sunny. The last vacation we took was up to my parent's place in Traverse City for the 4th of July. I left early in the week with the kids and Justin met me up there for the long holiday weekend. The twins were only a few months old at the time. Most of you know the story, on the drive up the babies had woken up and were screaming to be fed. Addison was getting restless listening to all the racket and kept asking me, "Mom, can you let me outta here?". Then I saw police lights in my rear view mirror.....wonderful. Thankfully, the officer simply flashed me a sympathetic smile and sent me on my way, probably thinking that he'd be speeding if that were the situation in his minivan too! As soon as we got up north, I immediately came down with the worst head cold known to man. Totally wiped me out and yet I still needed to be up all night nursing the twins, etc thinking, "I need a vacation from this vacation!". Thankfully, my mom was there to help and we ended up having a nice visit in spite of all that.
I think we all need a change of pace every now and then. I remember my first year out of college. I thought it was such a weird feeling to not have that semester change of classes or that summer break switch over to full time work. No change of pace! Since then, I find I often put my life on "autopilot" and then some time later, wonder why I am getting restless. I have become lukewarm.
As usual, God says it best:
Matthew 5:13-16
"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."
As long as you are still here on earth, God has a reason for you to be here. Remind yourself of that! I used to love reading the quote at the bottom of my old co worker's email signature. It read, "Above all, be kind. For you never know what someone else is going through". So true. We affect other people's lives everyday and we often are not even aware of it. We were made to be reflections of God. Those pieces of me that reflect Him are those that I cherish the most. They need to be nurtured and fed and put out there for the world to see. They need to be used to glorify God. When I become lukewarm, I am not doing God justice for the life He has given me. I am not doing my family justice. I am not doing myself justice. The joy in the everyday somehow vanishes.
Sure, vacations help my mood for the moment. However, it is my life that I always return to. So perhaps this dreary time of year is a good time to assess where I have become lukewarm in my journey. Time to shine. I don't know about you, but I'd like to give some glory back to the God who has blessed me with so very much.
This winter hasn't been long and neither has it been very cold. Yet still, this time of year I find myself longing for something. A vacation would be nice. Some place warm and sunny. The last vacation we took was up to my parent's place in Traverse City for the 4th of July. I left early in the week with the kids and Justin met me up there for the long holiday weekend. The twins were only a few months old at the time. Most of you know the story, on the drive up the babies had woken up and were screaming to be fed. Addison was getting restless listening to all the racket and kept asking me, "Mom, can you let me outta here?". Then I saw police lights in my rear view mirror.....wonderful. Thankfully, the officer simply flashed me a sympathetic smile and sent me on my way, probably thinking that he'd be speeding if that were the situation in his minivan too! As soon as we got up north, I immediately came down with the worst head cold known to man. Totally wiped me out and yet I still needed to be up all night nursing the twins, etc thinking, "I need a vacation from this vacation!". Thankfully, my mom was there to help and we ended up having a nice visit in spite of all that.
I think we all need a change of pace every now and then. I remember my first year out of college. I thought it was such a weird feeling to not have that semester change of classes or that summer break switch over to full time work. No change of pace! Since then, I find I often put my life on "autopilot" and then some time later, wonder why I am getting restless. I have become lukewarm.
As usual, God says it best:
Matthew 5:13-16
"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."
As long as you are still here on earth, God has a reason for you to be here. Remind yourself of that! I used to love reading the quote at the bottom of my old co worker's email signature. It read, "Above all, be kind. For you never know what someone else is going through". So true. We affect other people's lives everyday and we often are not even aware of it. We were made to be reflections of God. Those pieces of me that reflect Him are those that I cherish the most. They need to be nurtured and fed and put out there for the world to see. They need to be used to glorify God. When I become lukewarm, I am not doing God justice for the life He has given me. I am not doing my family justice. I am not doing myself justice. The joy in the everyday somehow vanishes.
Sure, vacations help my mood for the moment. However, it is my life that I always return to. So perhaps this dreary time of year is a good time to assess where I have become lukewarm in my journey. Time to shine. I don't know about you, but I'd like to give some glory back to the God who has blessed me with so very much.
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