Home Beautiful

I don't know how some moms do it. They have kids to look after, countless little details to attend to, playdates to be had, kids to be dropped off at various activities, school and church meetings to attend, AND STILL their homes are neat, organized, and everything in its place.

This is clearly not me. I used to pride myself with being a neat-freak, having a house in order, and everything organized. This was all during the BC period - Before Children. When Joshua came along, I still had a good grasp of getting things done and maintaining a neat home. Then Jenna came, and now Becca...I found myself losing control of what I thought was important. When God blessed us with a new home 6 months ago, I thought to myself, "Great! This is the clean slate I've been looking for. As we move stuff into this empty home, I can take the opportunity to organize things as they come in." Yeah, well...this didn't quite happen.

If you've been to our new home, you'll notice (or not, cos we hide it very well!) that one side of our garage is a mess with unpacked boxes, and just stuff that we want to sell at a garage sale this Spring. I'm not proud of this, but I used to be one of those people who judged others who parked their cars out in their driveway while their garage was occupied with all their stuff. Now, I can empathize. And in our new home, our 4th bedroom door is always closed. Because it's been allocated as the "I-don't-know-where-to-put-this" room. Our rooms are strewn with toys and clothes; the laundry hamper is always overflowing (I equate that to Jesus' miracle of multiplying the fish and loaves...it just keeps coming!).

At the same time, I love to host. In the past, I've been so hesitant to have people over because the house isn't clean or neat enough (or big enough!). Now, I'm embracing my new reality. And I've learned that hospitality is not about the house, but about the heart, and the heart for people. I shouldn't care what people have to say about my messy house, and am learning to let those kind of comments go (especially when one of Joshua's little friends always say, "Wow! You (still!) have a lot of junk in your garage!" And he says it like he's never seen anything quite like it. Nice kid...) I used to think that having a messy house is a reflection of that person. So not true. Now I think that a messy house is a trademark of just being a mom. And whenever I go over to someone else's messy house, I feel so much more at home!

Bottom line, Jared and I have always wanted our home to have an open door. Anyone is welcome to come. We love to grant people "refridgerator rights", where people are welcome to treat our home as theirs, help themselves to whatever is in the fridge (hence, the term), etc. Mi Casa, Su Casa. Also, it's always been a desire of mine to have an extra bedroom where anyone who needs a place to stay is welcome to stay with us. I just want our home to be a reflection of God's love, His grace, His peace. I want our kids to develop a heart of hospitality and bring friends home after school or church, and that their friends will know that at our home, there is no need of fear nor judgment...just a loving and safe haven.

I really believe that this is what Christ intended for us. To live in fellowship with one another, like the disciples did in Acts 2. To do life together.

In Emilie Barnes' book Keep It Simple for Moms on the Go, she writes (about the home)...

It's your spirit of hospitality, your willingness to share your home and your life in Christ with others. Don't wait until everything is perfect. Something will always need fixing or painting. Love what you have and invite others to share the bounty. Your gracious welcome will fill in the gaps...Your home will always be the most beautiful when you stretch out your arms in welcome!

If you can put up with my messy house, you are welcome anytime!