{my preacher loves this, and said it took the words right out of his mouth...}
Can I put on my Preacher's Wife hat for a minute? I don't do that all the time, here. But if you will indulge me, I hope to share some perspective with you.
It's Christmas, and we are all trying to create a sense of peace and homey-loveliness.
What is it that gives a home that "homey" feeling? What makes a home an actual haven? We can say "a home should be a haven"...we can make sweet signs, calling our home a haven...
But if the grace of God isn't evident, if the people who live there aren't cared for properly within the walls of that home, if legitimate authority isn't honored there (oh, that is a big one!)...
...there will be no tangible, sweet peace there.
Because it isn't about a home's architectural style
And it isn't about the decor.
It isn't the color of your paint...
Or the quality of your home's materials.
It isn't about the view outside your window,
Or your square footage.
It isn't {even} the art that adorns your walls...
Or whether you're country or urban or suburban.
Honestly? A home is a haven when the one woman loves the one man and the one man adores the one woman. A home is a haven when authority is acknowledged, and honor flows upwards and downwards easily. In short? A home is a haven when no one wants to leave, and there is a sense of peace.
And all those things begin with a marriage filled with honest respect and secret passion....void of belittling sarcasm and unbelieving cynicism.
To borrow from the great F. Scott Fitzgerald, when two people love each other like that, that is the beginning of everything.
Angels sing over that home.
Grace and Peace,
Sheila Atchley
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