gcagate adventures : Home

I have been thinking a lot lately about my home. That is my earthly home here in Pitcairn.
It is almost 5 years since we began this adventure of Community Ministry here in Pitcairn, and honestly I wouldn't trade it!!
When we moved into our home it was a complete disaster and I mean a total mess!!! Thanks to our children, grandchildren, extended family, and friends we turned this mess of a house into a home.
There was a time when I wanted my home to be perfect. Of course the Lord gave that to me for a short time when we built our Townhouse. Everything was brand-new and all the accents were chosen by me!! The walls were straight, the floors were level, there were windows galore to let in the sunshine, and there was a Master Suite!!! What else could a woman ask for...seriously :)
And then the Lord called us from there to here. Here, to this 110 year old house where even after renovations, I have crooked walls, floors that slant, not much sunlight b/c my neighbors are a foot away, and lo and behold there is no Master Suite!!!
But there is good news in al this crookedness. The good news is, I no longer worry if someone scratches the paint off of the wall when they are moving something or if they spill something on the floor or break something. I almost never care that my walls are crooked and "lumpy"
But hear me out!! I don't want to take credit for this new found "I don't care" attitude because it is the Holy Spirit who changes things, who makes you think twice about what is important.
Our home is used almost every weekday for the sharing of the Gospel, from Women's Ministry Dinners and Brunches to Dinner with Jr. and Sr. High kids to Bible Studies with Young Adult Women to learning how our Faith and our Finances are connected. It is used for sleepovers with a lot of grandkids and family dinners with our kids and grandkids. It is used to have friends over for a meal or for overnight stays for friends passing through. It is even used for short-term and longterm "housemates"
Every time I set the table for one of the above events I smile. Not because my house is perfect and my dishes match, but because the Lord has chosen to allow us the ability to open our home to others, to see Christ shared. He has filled our home with laughter and tears, with teaching and lessons, with new neighbors and old friends, with coffee and tea, hot dogs and steak, quiche and muffins, soup and sandwiches, you name it we have shared it here:)
Currently, my dining room table is surrounded by plastic chairs!! My nice antique ones that we painted and re-upholstered are falling apart. I am pretty sure my dining room won't be in the latest HGTV magazine, but that is OK. Gary made our dining room table after we moved here and I pray that there will be many people who will say, "I sat at that table and heard the Gospel and I felt the love of Jesus there" While I used to want my home to reflect the look of HGTV, now I only want my home to reflect Jesus.
So whenever I start getting grumpy because my walls are crooked and my floor slants, and the rooms are not sunny and there isn't a Master Suite; I pray I will remember this post and these pictures and know that all of that doesn't matter!! What matters is looking at all we have in light of eternity and my desire is that everyone who enters into this crooked old house will feel loved and one day be with me in a Perfect Mansion that has been prepared by our Savior. I pray that for my children and grandchildren, extended family, neighbors, and friends.
To God be the Glory!!!