5:37 am I start this thing, sitting in the empty shell that used to be my room, and my emotions are entirely mixed. In almost 5 hours, the new owners of this house will be here, and move their stuff in. In 5 hours, we have to be out of here. Out of this place that I've called home for almost 18 years.
Back in 1992, my dad designed and built this house himself. I remember he and mom taking a 4-year old Stephen and his siblings to a random yard filled with towering weeds, setting down a blanket, and having a McDonalds picnic. I remember him saying, "This is where the dining room is going to be," and that's what happened. My parents designed this house for specific purposes. They had a vision, and enacted it, and it has become that place where you most feel comfortable since November of 1992.
However, it is safe to say that this place, this home, has served its purpose. The youngest just graduated high school, and is moving on herself, and the rest of the children have already moved on. At the same time, God is calling my parents to bigger and greater things across the country. So it comes to this, an empty house.
While this is sad, two thoughts are swinging through my head constantly.
The first is that this place is special because it is where the many good (and bad) memories occur. That said, we, my family, are the vessels for those memories. This is but a mixture of wood, drywall, and carpet, no? Are we not the ones who carry the memories forward? We don't need a house to remember the fun and/or interesting times that occurred here. My family still has each other, and that's by far the most important part. While we lose the representation of those memories, we still carry them with us.
The second is that this was never my home in the first place. This world was never my home. My true home, and the place I truly long for, is in the heavens with my precious Jesus. Jesus said, "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you." (John 14:2) In the same way that my earthly father built a home for me, my heavenly father has already built a home for me. That is my true home, the one only accessible through saving faith in Jesus Christ: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6, one of my favorites)
My home is in heaven, with Jesus. This house that I'm sitting in, ultimately, means nothing. What really matters is that I prepare myself for my future, eternal home.
Lord, use me before taking me home! Oh, how I long to be there, Jesus, but I have tasks here on earth to complete for you. Please constantly give me strength and clarity, that I may complete your tasks awesomely. And Jesus, allow the new owners of this house to have the same good memories as we did. Bless this place, make it a place of peace and warmth. Thank-you for all the good times, and thank-you for a place to move on towards. You are my God, and I worship you eternally. You're beautiful, my Yahweh.
-Stephen
