Dunraven- 33 years
"That house…..was a perfect house, whether you like food or sleep, or storytelling or singing, or just sitting and thinking best, or a pleasant mixture of them all.
Merely to be there was a cure for weariness, fear, and sadness.”
-JRR Tolkien
San Souci- 17 years
Every house I ever remember living in as a child, was that perfect house!
Springfield- 6 months
It was mom’s way!
She was always there filling it with love and creative expression, with efforts to bless and comfort her family.
Bellevue- 6 months
By God’s gracious hand, Dad’s work was the means by which Mom frugally and generously filled our home with the richness of God’s provision and goodness. Dad and Mom loved us the way they knew they were loved by God. They served us, and others, confidently by God’s promise that He would never leave us nor forsake us. God’s love made every home we lived in a haven!
Omaha- 3 years
I never remember a time Mom did not want her presence to be known in our home!
She gave us many reasons to want to return home, for knowing she was there to welcome us with much love, special treats, and surprises.
Newfoundland-3 years
I learned more from her by her presence and endless serving!
She was the daughter of a mom who traveled each week to work out of town, and she returned home on the weekends to be with her husband and daughters. Mom’s sister, my Aunt Faye, said, “Your mom took care of our home while Mama was away.”
Mom and Aunt Faye were thankful for the witness and bold faith of their grandparents who welcomed them into their hearts and home each summer while their parents worked.
Though separation from their parents was not ideal, the LORD used their circumstances to cultivate faith and character in the young ladies Mom and Aunt Faye became.
They have both made indelible impressions in their homes and the lives of others.
Mom demonstrated to me how to give of herself, sacrificially, to trust the Lord and be content where she was. I’m sure there were days and nights she loved her family out of weakness, but she never faltered in faith to believe the LORD would give her every strength she needed to do all He called her by love to accomplish as a daughter, and then eventually as a wife and mother.
When Mom married (at 18 1/2), she moved overseas to join her husband in Paris, France. There she made their newlywed apartment a haven. It wasn’t long before they welcomed their first baby, eleven months later. Five years later, she welcomed me, and then 18 months after that, she became the mother of another. As a courageous young mom of three, she continued to be creatively loving and generous to make us know we were welcomed and belonged!
Mom was the beating heart of every house we occupied. She filled us up in every house we lived in. The love and care she expressed to us made the houses we lived in the perfect sanctuaries we enjoyed and called “Home”.
I am so very thankful for such a mom’s influence. She is the reason I grew up wanting to have a family and home of my own.
She always gave me the vision and courage to be at home with myself, to welcome others in to the comfort and peace she knew and nurtured in me.
Her comfort and peace came from being at home by faith in Jesus, who she came to know and love from a young age!
So, what makes a home perfect?
The spirit of the One who fills and overflows its chambers marked by treasures that make a family rich in love that multiplies. Our Father loves to perfection!
He embraces and envelopes all who are washed and flow by His stream!
Be at home in Him, and wherever He calls you, be perfected in His love there!
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
Psalm 91:1-2
