Home.

I grew up on a farm on 90 acres of woods, where the closest neighbor was a mile away. I never imagined raising my children in a small apartment with no backyard. A mile away? Our closest neighbor is just on the other side of the wall.

I have long dreamed of building a modern home with a backyard and a playhouse for Hudson and Grace. I think about this dream home quite often to be honest. I have 10 Pinterest boards full of ideas hoping that one day this dream will become a reality. But recently I started to wonder if I spend as much time preparing to build my dream home on Earth as I do preparing for my citizenship in heaven. Who is the ultimate architect of my dream home: God or man?

Proverbs 24:27 says, “put your outdoor work in order and get your fields ready; after that, build your house.” This verse has really encouraged me. God wants me to put my “outdoor work in order and get my fields ready” before we build our physical house. He’s checking my heart and my motives behind building a home. He is teaching me I will never have a “forever home” on Earth. My true citizenship is in heaven. Building a beautiful home isn’t something that I should be consumed by or idolize. After praying and laying this dream at the feet of Jesus, I don’t think about it everyday anymore. It’s still a dream deep in my heart. I’m still believing God for it but I’ve taken it off the idol pedestal.

I know this isn’t the season to build a home here on Earth. I will continue to put my outdoor work in order and get my fields ready. I’m called to build eternal homes in heaven by sharing the gospel with those who need it. I trust that if it is God’s will for us to build a house, it will come to be.

Sending my love,