Monday, August 6, 2012

Please don't tell me its a coincidence, or karma, or anything else....but GOD!

Recently my husband and I have been discussing buying/building a new home.  We've thrown around this idea for quite some time because we tell ourselves "our kids need a bigger back yard so that we can buy them a playset".  And then two big things have recently happened that made me question the rationale for paying all sorts of realtor fees just so the kids can have a playset (and mind you, we live only 5 doors away from a wonderful neighborhood park).

#1 - Some dear friends of ours just moved into a beautiful NEW home that they built from the ground up.  They invited us for a dinner (and to see the new house).  My kids were excited beyond because this family had also just purchased a new playset for their backyard.  So, on the evening of the dinner, we arrive at our friends' home and our kids bolt straight out of the car and straight to the playset.  They are climbing, swinging, sliding...and generally having the time of their lives.  Within five minutes, I hear our friends children asking my kiddos to come inside to play or watch a movie.  And then their mother tells me this, "We've only had the playset for a week and the kids are already OVER it!"  What?!?!  But this is why I need a bigger backyard, so that my kids will want to spend more time outdoors and less time telling me they are bored over summer break.  Guess that's just not the case!

#2 - Today I was catching up on my favorite blogs (we've been on vacation for the past week with very limited internet - how can that be?) and one stuck me straight in the craw (as my grandpa used to say).  The blogger talked about how wanting your dream home isn't all its cracked up to be - that once you get that bigger home, bigger yard, bigger garage - you start to fill it up with all kinds of stuff that zap your energy.  Things that keep you preoccupied.  Things that keep you further from the Lord.  And then she said:
 "That's why it is so hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven.
It's our hearts. It's where our thoughts lie. It's about where our treasure is.
But how do we know if our treasure is in something?
The test taught in that parable of Scripture above is this: how willing are you to give it up?
When you think of this question, do you have anxiety in your chest when you think of selling or giving away certain things {or positions}? What could you leave behind? What could you not?"

Read her blog here:  biblicalhomemaking.blogspot.com

And then I realized that everything my children need is right here - right in this perfect sized home.  They have a mother, a father, food, clothing, warmth, love, compassion, forgiveness, prayer, and God.  Everything else consumes us and keeps our attention busy and away from the Lord.