A House Vs A Home

Yesterday, we officially sold and closed on our house in Michigan. Bittersweet. I begged not to attend the closing. For one, it's boring. And two, I don't like to meet the people who are moving into our house of seven years.  To me, it's the equivalent of meeting your exhusband's new wife. I don't have an ex husband and my ex is not married, but this analogy works for me. 

 A house is not just a house. It is a home. It is so much more than wood and beams. Houses are those structures you pass by on a walk and wonder who lives there. A home is where you pull into the driveway and can't wait to put on your pjs and flop on the couch.  We have memories in every square inch of this home. 

This is yet another home where we introduced another child into this family. Our third and last was brought home from the hospital here. Back up to the pregnancy test on our bathroom counter and the joy and excitement we felt. Back up more than that to the wall in our master bedroom. We tore it down between our room and the other bedroom to make a glamorous master retreat with a big bathroom. As we were taking a sledge hammer to the wall, my great husband chuckles "you'll end up pregnant and we'll have to rebuild this wall!"  Well, I was and didn't know it! Joke was on him!

When we first moved here our boys were five and three and now they will be a month shy of 11 and 13 when we leave.  We had many boy birthday parties on the deck from cowboy and Lego themed to Star Wars and water guns. What about them sledding down the stairs on box tops or having light saber fights and sleepovers in the basement. What about the first night we spent in this house before our goods made it. The four of us slept in sleeping bags on the floor in the den. 

Then our little girl entered the mix and pink became our favorite color whether we liked it or not! We went from stepping on Lego bricks to Barbie shoes and tiaras. The heaps of stuffed animals and pink blankets on the couch. The fairy birthday party with glitter that we still find in the carpet.

I fell in love with trash up here. Sure, I had found a few pieces before moving up here, but it exploded in Michigan. I furnished our home with curbside and Craigslist finds that I sweat over in the garage. I threw kids in the car with their pop tarts and pjs and went on trash hunts during the summer. The oldest boy would jump out in his bare feet and help me load it into the van with a sleepy smile! The garage floor has paint remnants in every color of the rainbow from when I just couldn't wait and decided to forgo a drop cloth. On most occasions really....

Oh the memories. I hate saying goodbye. This went from being the hardest move of my life to the best move of my life. We all grew up here. All five of us. We met awesome people, selfless people, loving people, difficult people, rude people- but they all left a mark that changed and shaped us into who we are. No regrets.

I went to the closing. I met the people and mustered a smile. I softened a bit and even cracked a joke or two. We had a slight hold up with our house in Florida that came out in the closing.  The buyers were asking us what happened. We explained. After our long explanation, the buyer husband wanted to know how we were so relaxed and happy even with things not going as planned. We were both taken aback by the comment. It never occurred to us. Then I felt bad that I hadn't softened sooner though they didn't seem to notice. 

All of this. This that I mentioned. All of the memories. The moving up here. The moving into this particular house. The schools we went to. The church we belonged to. The neighbors. The buyers. The doing. Our reactions. It is all for The Lord. Every little thing. Every square inch of our lives belong to The Lord. We are more than just people to him. He doesn't look at us and see what we see. He sees everything. He sees the beginning, middle, and the end. He sees beyond our abilities. And oh how much He loves us.  All of us. We get frustrated. We get teary. We get scared. Emotional....God has a plan for every little detail. Every little thing is because of Him and is used by Him.  I long to remember that first before I get caught up in the moment.  

I have seen this quote many, many times, but it is so perfect for the time we are in right now. I want to remember this in all things. Especially knowing who's hand is in it and who's hand never leaves even when He asks us to pack up and move...across country. I look at this house and the memories and I think "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."-Dr. Seuss