Home is what you make it...

"See you later, my home!" Makafui calls out something along those lines each morning when we drive out of our complex.

It does my heart good to hear him say that. I've been mulling a lot lately about home, wants, needs, entitlement.

God has been so kind to gently lead me and grow me and teach me. We have (and I especially) have gone through phases over the past few years, that the "need" for a house was so great that I could barely think of anything else. I allowed influences around me, whether it be our culture at large and the quest for The American Dream, or be it people in my life who wore me down and belittled me with comments about when I would EVER get a house, or how terrible it would be if they had to have children in an apartment! I allowed myself to somehow feel less-or like my life was greatly lacking because of the absence of a mortgage.

That's just not true anymore. God has given me contentment and joy in our life just as it is. I am able to see all the good things about living in an apartment, before I see any of the bad. Such as, we have a maintenance team! I got touch-up paint, a new microwave touch panel and a towel bar re-hung this week and all it took was a few clicks on a website. I don't have to pay to water grass! My electric bill last month was $36. And when G's job changed and we need to live clear across town, we just wait for our lease to be up and pick a different place, that simple.

Would I like to have a garage and yard? Yes. But that is most certainly a want and not a need. And there were times that that want, which started out as a good thing, turned into that really, really ugly thing...entitlement. Yuck.

Just 6 months ago, I said in my heart, I am NOT living in an apartment anymore! We need a yard, we need a garage, we need to be free from loud neighbors! I am so glad that our God is so kind and lovingly worked on my heart. I don't feel that way anymore. In fact, I'm apartment hunting for our move after the baby. Some more time to figure out where we want to live, to be in control of our finances, rather than have them be in control of us, and flexibility to change our minds after a year or two sounds just perfect.

Home is not a mortgage, or a yard, or a garage. Home is what you make it. I am very grateful to have the family I do and the beautiful home we are creating together.