I Chose to Love My Home

The atmosphere of our homes is far more important than what it looks like.

To love home is natural. God created the first home (the Garden of Eden), then put man and woman in it. When Eve woke up, her home was ready for her. It was the place out of which she began her life, and now our home is the place out of which our life has its beginnings. It is the place where we nurture our children and love our husbands. It is the place where we can be ourselves, practice hospitality and dominion, and it is the place we all return to for a reprieve. It’s from home that you are going to affect generations to come.

“He was asking me to be obedient in mastering what I already had charge of before He would broaden my responsibility and privileges.”

The atmosphere in my home is what my husband and kids sense almost subconsciously. My hubby has certain impressions when he comes home after a long and frustrating day at work, either positive or negative. When the kids are adults, they’ll remember how they felt in the atmosphere of their childhood home far more than they will remember the details of what was said or done. As wives and mothers, I believe it is our responsibility to seek to make our homes a place where God dwells, to invite him into every room. He wants to be in every nook and cranny. He wants to be at your table, involved in every conversation. When we are aware that God is with us, it changes us. God is with me when I’m up in the night with a fussy baby, when I’m cooking or cleaning, when I’m with sweet friends, when I’m sleeping, and when I’m feeling overwhelmed. I only need to acknowledge His presence, to cry out, “Thank you, God, that you are with me,” and He’ll surround me with His peace. 

God has given each of us OUR home. He didn’t give it to somebody else; He gave ME that privilege. I have, unfortunately, spent many hours envying the beautiful homes of others, and complaining to God that I lived in an apartment or a basement or a back bedroom where I could hear the neighbor snore. He let me whine for years about this until I read Deuteronomy 11. It talks about obeying the Lord’s commands to love Him, to obey Him, and to hold fast to Him. And if you do these things, He will expand your territory. All of a sudden I saw the connection between my obedience to God and Him opening up opportunities for me to possess what I was asking for! He was asking me to be obedient in mastering what I already had charge of before He would broaden my responsibility and privileges. He was gently teaching me to stop giving my energy away where it did not need to be. I had to work on putting my energy into the atmosphere at home rather than goofing off or wishing I was somewhere else. 

Practically, for me, this revelation meant I had to stop believing the little monsters that lived with me (my kids) were 100% responsible for the messy house and my yelling and my exhaustion. I had to take ownership, be the grownup, and kick my victim mentality to the curb. I had to put in the work to change the attitude of my heart from griping about my living conditions to gratefully accepting wherever I found myself residing. I had to work at being cheerful at home. I tidied up and invited my friends over in spite of being embarrassed about the house I could afford. It was the home God provided and His Spirit dwelling there with me, in me, was much more important than the perception of others. Whatever is inside us will permeate to whatever is outside of us. 

Over time (and tears!), I realized I wasn’t as grouchy at home. I really had made up my mind to love my home and care for it, and now I was actually doing it! My husband began to notice that I was nicer to him when he came home. He complimented my smile and said he liked hearing me hum happy songs while I buzzed around clearing the dinner dishes. My kids started doing their chores and they didn’t “literally die” like they said they would! And before too long, God provided a big house in the country. It was a fixer upper but had all the things I asked for - a sunny spot for a garden, an attic for storage, a huge kitchen, and a safe yard for the kids. I am still amazed at the correlation between obedience and reward, but God said it, so it must be true. I love my home, and I pray that the atmosphere in it will be an encouragement to all who enter.

---