If you look up my address on Google Earth, it will show you a haunted house.
Well, sort-of. You'll see a dirty blue house on a grey day covered by overhanging trees, two leaning against a garage with a rusted, dark-blue-painted door. There's junk on the front porch, overgrown hedges and no fence hiding the neighbors' yard which looked bleak back then.
Hobbit Cottage sat empty for 5 years(!) and on one of those days, Google Earth took a sad photo of the type of house you'd hurry past when walking, lest someone jump out and grab you.
Trust me. I'm not exaggerating.
But someone came along in 2011 and made everything new inside our someday house, though not doing much outside except installing a new garage door, mowing the lawn and trimming the hedges.
Oh, and the neighbors had added a fence (and made their yard beautiful).
At the top of this post the word 'legacy' is used and part of mine is that God and Grace and I (and tree chopper, concrete and painter guys) turned our yard from haunted-appearing to well, kinda sweet and sunny.
The someone's-gonna-get-you feeling is gone, anyway.
My poor ol' back isn't what she used to be, so I wear a brace and do the best I can. There's lots of sit-down-gardening going on and I bring bricks back from Home Depot in small batches. Some days I move almost in slow motion as gravity tries to pull me from the waist, down(anyone else know that feeling?).
I'm learning not to hurry, to keep up not with the neighbors, but with God's direction and timing. To follow the rhythm of Grace. And s-l-o-w-l-y it all gets done.
Hobbit Cottage is, these days, a place full of light and oh, the peace, especially when Tom, Naomi and I safely gather within her walls in harmony, in grace and in gratitude.
Lately I wish as a wife, mother and Christian woman for our home to be more of a light in neighborhoods near and far. May I create a more sure legacy, one stretching on into Heaven, somehow, as the time for that new home marches closer.
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Happy Mother's Day from my happy home to yours to all my special readers!
And yay! Naomi is home this Mother's Day (well, technically she's at work, but I did see her this morning and she's not in TN). Tom and I celebrated Mother's Day yesterday so that's when Naomi gave me a potted plant, a small octagonal keepsake box with yogurt covered fruit, a candle and organic chocolate. (She must have inherited her perfect gift-giving skills from long ago relatives or God, but certainly not from her parents!)
Yet the very best thing is that she's here with us this year.
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"Inch by inch anythings' a cinch."...copied
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Happy Mothers Day dear Debra!
ReplyDeleteHappy Mother's Day, Debra!
ReplyDeleteDebra, I just love - LOVE that last paragraph... maybe one of the best paragraphs EVER on your blog :) As you know, we have two homes, and I have had such a strong feeling (particularly lately) about making our house (in both towns) "more of a light" in my neighborhood(s). Sharing love, particularly God's love in subtle ways and then letting Him take over.... it's something I'm really striving for :-) Happy, happy Mother's Day, dear friend!!
ReplyDeleteHappy Mother's Day to you, dear Judy and Dolores and Susan! Three of my very favorite ladies.
ReplyDeleteAnd Susan--I love that you're striving for your homes to be more of a light!
Praying all good blessings to fall upon you, Ladies.... Debra
Happy Mother's Day! I love the way your home looks. Happy and full of light, not a bit "haunted" in my eyes. I am so ready for our new home in Heaven. I walk through each day, hoping it will be the one when Jesus returns to call us home. I loved this posts and the thoughts that you shared.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Betsy
Happy Mother's Day, Debra! So glad Naomi is home--I know it made your day even more special! My daughter gave me flowers, too, and they're already in some pots, one near the back door, and other is near the front door. Every time we look at our flowers, we'll think of our darling girls.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the fact that you're so honest about the fact that your body may be changing with the passing years, and you have to be more careful as you work on your home, but little by little, we can still make a difference for good. I was feeling pretty down this spring, following surgery, imagining my yard and garden looking pretty sad. However, my family is helping and even tho we've scaled back a bit, it's still pretty. I agree that our homes, inside and out, can be a reflection of our heavenly father and his love for us!