Finally Feeling at Home Again. . .

Do you like the carafe I found at Goodwill?

I do.

Increasingly these past few days, when I’ve walked through the front door of this house, I feel like I’ve truly arrived “home.” The place feels relaxed and comfortable now, like I belong here.

When I lifted the flap of the black mailbox by the front door this afternoon, there was a letter from a sweet, longtime friend, and, somehow, even that made me feel more at home. I sat at my kitchen table and read, laughing and smiling and thanking the Lord for the wisdom and encouragement that was shared so naturally and easily in that letter. As nice as it is to receive an email, there’s nothing quite like discovering a handwritten letter from a friend in your own mailbox.

I think I’ve subconsciously held off entirely embracing this little house as home, even though I like it so well, and even though I recognize it as a gift from the Lord, because I don’t know how long I’ll be able to stay here. Maybe I haven’t wanted to start setting down roots only to have to pull them up again.

But suddenly, I don’t feel that way. Rather, I feel certain that the Lord gave this home to me—even if for only six months or a year—and if He has put me here, it is where I belong. This is where He wants me to live, so I shouldn’t hold back, gun-shy about another possible uprooting. If the Lord sees fit to move me somewhere else tomorrow, that’s His business, and, really, it’s only another chance to press hard into Him, to know Him better, and to trust Him more.

So, I’m ready to settle into this place. And just in time, too, because tomorrow, three of us are going to Klamath Falls to load up all of our stored belongings and bring them back across the mountains. And we’re doing it in just one day! The driving alone (round trip) will probably take at least seven hours. It will be a long, full, tiring day, which means I won’t get to visit with any of my friends in the high desert, and that makes me sad.

For awhile I dreaded it, but now I’m eager to unpack my boxes and sort through them. I’m particularly eager to set up the bookshelves and slide my books onto them again. There’s a long, bare wall in the living room that really needs something large in front of it to absorb the glaring light and muffle the cavernous echo in the room! The bookshelves should do nicely there.

One thing is certain—I’ll be giving away and donating much of what I have in storage because if I’ve lived without it for two years and haven’t missed it even a little bit, then I don’t see why I should be burdened with it now. Something I’ve loved about not having all of my belongings around me is the airy, light, fresh feeling I’ve enjoyed in this very uncluttered, sparsely furnished house. I’d really like to keep this place airy and simply furnished but it needs to be just a bit more homey, cosy, and familiar than it is now.

Whatever I end up doing with the things I unpack, and however I set things up, it’s nice to finally feel at home again.