#thanksliving Home is my Hubby

I don’t like to clean.  Just not a fan of the mundane do it again tasks.  I pray A LOT while I am cleaning.  If I don’t I become resentful of the task.   I will moan that I have to wash the dishes – for the 6^th time today or that I truly believe I have washed, dried, folded and tucked away the same kid’s shirt 3x in one week.  I learned to pray during the tasks to keep me thankful.  Thankful I have dishes to wash which means my kids have enough to eat, thankful I have clothes to fold and put away because it means I have a house full of children who have enough to wear.  Even still truth be told I would rather sit on my front porch and read!

Today I find myself cleaning the house in preparation for our first Sunday Dinner.  The Hubby and I have been praying to God and asking guidance and one thing has become clear for us.   We want to introduce our kids to the concept of the Sunday Dinner.  Neither my husband nor I really experienced this growing up but we have heard stories.  We are nostalgic for something we didn’t grow up with.  We are drawn to the idea of a true Sabbath.  A day to worship God, share a meal with friends and family, pray and play together, enjoy one another, relax into the arms of God and let the scriptures from the day envelop us.

This is my first true Sabbath preparation.  Cleaning the house, putting away the work, preparing the meals in advance, making it so all we have to do is get up in the morning and step into the day with God.  Tomorrow is exciting for us as a new beginning and it is my husband’s birthday with our family coming over to celebrate.  Technically I don’t need to clean for family.  They know us and love us anyway and they have had the joy of us leaving a trail of dirty socks and loose toys at their house when we come to visit.

Thanksliving has me walking through my house cleaning and rejoicing in memories.  We have a very simple house.  It really needs to be painted and the furniture saw much better times 15 years ago.  Everything is well worn and much loved.  It may not be fancy but each item tells a story.  As I dust and sweep, scrub and vacuum I know where each item came from and the story behind it.  The vase of flowers from my mother-in-law's funeral, the pictures of the kids when we first moved into this house, the candle my husband gave me on my first mother’s day, the picture my parents sent me as an ordination gift, the pottery and drawings my kids made in elementary school that have place of honor in each room.

The Hubby and I have been thinking about where we might want to live after retirement.  It seems far away but it really isn’t.  We joke that what I really want is to purchase some land and build a small compound.  The main house for us and family dinners and cabins on the property for each of the kids so they will visit with their families and then stay for a very long time.  As I walk through the house cleaning and praying over everything in thanksgiving for all that is God’s that we have been given to enjoy I realize it doesn’t matter where we live or where we go because I will always be home.  My Hubby is my home.  Each part of this house has him in it.  His energy, his love, his steadfast care and devotion for his family, his refusal to paint because the kids will just get their dirty hands and feet everywhere!  And he doesn’t really care if I clean the house.  He only cares that I am in the house with him.  Because for him where I am is home.  All he ever asks of me is to share my heart and my time with him.  Nothing more and nothing less.

Thanksliving.  So today I clean in preparation of our Sabbath with God and our celebration of my husband’s birthday.  I clean in honor of my Hubby and our home knowing that wherever he is I shall follow.  “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.”  Ruth 1:16 

 

The porch lights on, come on in if ya wanna.