Last weekend we parted with our camping trailer, after having given up our seasonal site at Good Spirit Lake. We enjoyed two good summers there, and the memories will linger long, spurred by our photos. That means that, having sold Hope House and the trailer, we have one small home. One place to call our own. It’s enough, and it tickles me. God willing, I hope not to move again for a very, very long time.
In almost forty- four years the Preacher and I have moved house eight times. We’ve lived in four provinces. Five cities. One acreage, one tiny village, and one (very long stay in a) physical rehab hospital. Like the Apostle Paul, we can say we’ve learned (are still learning) to be content in whatever state (province, city, village or countryside) we’re in.
“Won’t you miss your beautiful yard?” we’ve been asked often this time round, after moving to our current home in Melville. I know what they’re thinking. Over ten years of a winter wonderland in the cold season. Tangled trees like a fairyland in the hoarfroast. Owls. Lilacs and raspberries in summer. My red writing cottage (now at our daughter’s home, so I can visit). That vast lawn, so fabulous for chasing children and dog. And in fall and winter, when the trees stood bare, a view that extended clear into the country.
The Preacher misses the yardwork, he says. Indeed, he made the backyard at our former home more like a park. Our grandson Benjamin (king of the riding mower most of the last several summers), helped with that.
But a great peace suffuses me when I arrive home from work and enter our new place. I don’t feel dissected anymore. I simply feel….at home. At peace. I find beauty there too, inside and out. Regrets? I have none. Now that the fog of self-doubt and worry and fear has lifted, we can see that, with the prayers and assistance of family, friends and even strangers, God led us to a good place. One that will serve us and our needs well, for now. One day we’ll leave here too. Just like the gospel song says, we “ain’t a gonna need this house no longer, ain’t a gonna need this house no mo…”
The Bible clearly advises believers not to become too attached to possessions. Our dearest treasures can never be held in our hands or contained in a bank account. “Other than people, never hold anything in your heart that you can hold in (or touch with) your hands, “ someone has said. “Don’t store your treasures on earth,” Jesus said. We have a ways to go, but we’re working on that.
If I could hang a prayer on the door of our new home, it would read: “Father, help us to live thin and love thick. For you. For each other. For others. And keep reminding us that nothing may pass through the keyhole of eternity except our spirits and the things we did in your name. Amen.”
