Making a House a Home

career faith family mental health personal development Jun 10, 2023

4 minute read
By Bethany Rees

Over the last 23 years, Jason and I have lived in some pretty sketchy places and we’ve lived in some beautiful places.

Jason and I have known what it’s like to have nothing and we know what it's like to have everything we could want.

Whether we lived in the shady part of town called “Cow Town” (you read that right) or in the suburbs of Houston we’ve always felt at home in our dwelling.

So now that I’m sitting in my new (new to me) home, I’m reflecting on what has always made our apartments/houses feel like home.

It can’t be the size of the house or the “stuff” inside the house that makes it feel like a home. Because again, we’ve had years where we had nothing but bologna and Hamburger Helper to live off of 🤣. And we’re minimalists at heart so we never really had a ton of “stuff” anyway.

So what’s the answer then? What makes a location feel like a home?

Honestly, I think it’s the relationships we have in the place and not the place itself.

When the relationships in a given place are positive and life-giving, the size or look of the place doesn’t carry as much weight.

It’s mostly when the relationships are missing, negative, or full of trauma that the place doesn’t feel like home.

Need proof?

Have you ever worked in a drab environment but loved the people you worked with? Despite the lack-luster of the work building, you loved the place because you loved the people in it.

What about the rich and famous? How often do we hear about the lifestyles of the rich and famous only later to find out how miserable they are in their own skin?

As we look at the relationships around us, we must consider our most innate desire for a relationship with our creator. While our marriages and our kids, our friends and our coworkers may be great…we’ll never find what our heart truly longs for without a relationship with our Savior Jesus.

As the famous saying goes “home is where the heart is”... and our heart is always pining for love and acceptance. But we must come to the realization that there is no greater love than that of God for us.

“9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” ~1 John 4:9-10

I love the way Paul, a missionary constantly traveling for the gospel, truly had no permanent home… unless you consider his jail cell as one. And despite his location or his dwelling place his treasure and his heart was always at home with Christ. In Philippians 4: 11-13 he penned these words from prison:

“11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him [Christ] who strengthens me.”

Paul was never secretive about his heart for Jesus, for to him “..to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21)

If you don’t feel at home in your dwelling, place of work, or in your own skin…look at where your heart is. Give your heart to Jesus and He will help you know peace and rest as he says “welcome home.”

Know Better. Do Better. Live Better. Make Your Home with Jesus.

Rocks before Sand!

Scripture:

“11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him [Christ] who strengthens me.”

~Philippians 4:11-13

Theme Song:

Home by Chris Tomlin

References Used:

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