Houses and Lands

Last night I stood in the basement, organizing things and deciding what to keep. I looked around at the room that had at one time been finished (probably in the 60’s) and thought about how we’re leaving and we would not have the chance to finish so many house projects that we had started or simply planned. We aren’t going to take the drop ceiling out and paint the tongue and groove ceiling/subfloor from 1929 and leave the rafters dark in the basement room.

Last week I stood in the yard, raking leaves and staring at the three evergreen trees that we planted at the end of the yard. One for each little boy, showing that as trees grow, so does our faith and understanding of God from when we are small and curious to when we are older and wiser. As we tend the trees we tend the boys, which actually takes far more time and effort than a tree that doesn’t think it’s a puppy or ask if it can elbow bump your face or stare at a workbook page for five minutes, not doing anything but insisting you not go anywhere.

In the six years Jeff and I have been married, we’ve lived in five different places, but this house was different. We were going to raise our family here, and even had the opportunity to have a little business eventually with the boys because it’s zoned village commercial. We had dreams. But God has plans. When we first felt God stirring a call to ministry through a job opening that had our names written on it (figuratively speaking), the first and only question we had to wrestle with was, “Are we really going to consider moving to Canada less than a year after we bought this house?” But there wasn’t much wrestling. We would do what God called us to, regardless of the difficulty or how crazy that would seem to other people.

Jesus said to the man, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. [....] When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”
But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?”
Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.

Matthew 19

It’s really a no-brainer.