That’s Home
Twenty nine years ago, my man and I gave a notebook full of pictures and pages of ideas to an architect to design our dream home.
We built high atop a hill surrounded by mountains and a breathtaking view on every side. We planted little willow oaks to line the long, winding driveway, and a barn to house the horses that I loved so much.
We raised our three children in this home, along with several orphaned boys.
And somewhere in the process…
Life happened….
Everything grew and aged.
The trees became a tunnel up the drive, the landscape matured, and the wall inside my kitchen pantry kept careful records year after year as some very loved little lives grew into mature adults.
These walls stored up so many memories, welcomed so many friends, hosted so many events, “heard” so many prayers and so much laughter. They felt the slap of so many dirty hands as young teenage boys competed for the #1 high jump position.
I suppose that there’s hardly a square inch of the woods and hills surrounding our home that didn’t feel the footprints of a teenager, or the hoof prints of a horse, or the tires of a dirt bike or four wheeler.
Five boys and one blessed little girl, together with dogs and chickens and rabbits, and who knows how many other species of God’s creatures experienced life in all its glory…
Right here…
And the years flew.
The walls hear mostly silence these days; or the sounds of the hymns that a mother loves best, and the soft conversations of the aging parents who are left here.
But imbedded within every wall, and deep beneath every inch of soil lie the roots which have weaved their way into every fiber of our being; roots that will never die because they are and have always found their source in living water; roots that gave life and grew branches that took wings.
Yesterday, the question, “What makes you feel like you are truly home?” was posted in a very beautiful lady’s blog, along with the song, “North,” by the group, “Laughing Out Loud.”
The lyrics of the last verse got a choke hold on my heart.
“Smaller than dust on this map
Lies the greatest thing we have:
The dirt in which our roots have grown
And the right to call it home.”
Yes, I suppose if one is asked what makes us feel truly home, we need only find our roots. And when we do….
THAT’S HOME….
That’s how you’ll know you are truly home.