this house...this home

This location, this place, this house,
is where I laid my head for 13 years straight
and for over 21 years on and off (after I got married that is).

This location, this place, this house,
is currently on the market,
trying to be sold.
Looking for someone to care for it and
look after it and enjoy it.
Looking for someone to fill it with their memories.
And truthfully, that makes me a little sad.

This location, this place, this house,
was once white, then blue and now brown.
The walls were wallpapered, then painted, then faux finished.
The floors were vinyl, then carpeted now hardwood covers them.
The bedrooms were filled with children, then teens,
now guests and grandchildren.
The backyard has always been spacious
(they never put in the pool I asked for)
but now has a little less room because of the
AWESOME porch and three season room
(complete with hot-tub - their version of the pool I suppose).

This location, this place, this house,
is filled with memories for me.
Camping in the backyard, riding my bike on the long driveway,
shooting hoops in the driveway, parking my first car on the driveway,
my first kiss while standing on the driveway,
countless parties during high school and college
(surprise parties and otherwise)
sleepovers, family gatherings, graduation parties,
opening gifts after our wedding,
bringing new babies to see their grandpa for the first time,
the list goes on and on and on.

This location, this place, this house,
will be hard to not see anymore.
It will be hard to envision my parents someplace else.
Someplace that I may never see.
Someplace where I may not get to create memories.
Someplace without me.
Yes, that does sound very selfish...but that's just how I feel right now.

Their new place, wherever it may be, will be a temporary home,
then they will travel overseas and experience a whole new,
exciting, totally awesome, makes me jealous chapter in their lives.



This location, this place, this house,
has covered this family, has surrounded us,
has kept us safe in good times and bad.

But this location, this place, this house,
is just that,
a location, a place, a house,
the HOME will always be with my parents.
The place we will come back to for years,
to build new memories, new stories,
to add new faces to the photos.

My parents will be moving their home overseas for at least a year
and maybe longer come January 2011.
They will be serving the people in Indonesia.
They are in St. Louis today for training at the LCMS Headquarters.
They will learn more about their service to the people in Indonesia
and what their time there will consist of and look like.

I am very excited for them.
Very thrilled at their willingness to serve in the unknown.
Very much in awe of their servants hearts.
And also a little jealous, and sad.

So, as memories of this house still surround us,
it's not the house that holds the memories,
but our HOME,
our HEARTS.

Someday another family will call this location, this place, this house,
their OWN and will build their own memories.
We'll remember the house fondly but the memories will always go with us.
And we'll be able to create new ones in a new
location, a new place, a new house,
but our HOME will remain the same.
Our home with Christ as the head!