A House That's Lived In

I love a house that's “lived in”

with clutter here and there

a magazine left open

a jacket on a chair



A smell of something cooking

a special recipe?

An over-eager offer

of hospitality



I love a house that's “lived-in”

it seems to stand apart,

for in it is a woman

who has a loving heart. -               Anonymous



I saw that poem, framed and mounted, on the wall of a friend's house whilst visiting, and fell instantly in love with it. The dad very kindly penned it down for me on a piece of paper before I left. It captures the desire I have, of one day having a home that is hospitable, open to friends and family and strangers.

It also emphasises the importance of the role of a woman in making a house a home. I'm courting the wrath of feminists when I say this, but I believe that the woman in Proverbs 31, is being held up as a role model. Not so that we 'nomal' women work ourselves into a frenzy trying to achieve perfection, but so that when we study those verses closely we realise that that woman's life is structured on kindness, mercy, love, patience, industriousness and dignity. She is wise, and trusts in God for everything. Seems to me her conduct is very Christ-like, and isn't that what we are meant to be aiming for anyway – to learn from Jesus and show it in the way we live?

One day I'd like to have a home like that. A haven, where all are safe and happy. Where joy is a way of life. Where encouragement and kindness abound. Where love has priority. Where dreams are nourished. Where a life of adventure is kindled, and respite from the storms is found. Where prayer is the first impulse and the last resort. Where happy pets scurry and squawk. Where little feet, learn to crawl and then toddle and then run. Where little hands learn to grasp, and then draw and then scrawl and then write. Where young voices sing along with the old. Where smells of baking fill the air. Where music lightens the heart. Where the door is always open to strangers. Where God is first.