I love my house – sometimes. Time and again I look around my house and I am reminded how blessed I am. Then there are days when I seem to notice every insignificant flaw within it. When we built this house, ten years ago this month, we had just moved out of the city and did not have any kids yet. Our first few months in this house were spent in child-like amazement at how wonderful our new home was. Now, true suburbanites with five kids, we wonder sometimes what we were thinking when we designed certain aspects of our house.
There was a time a few years ago when I spent a lot of time comparing my house with others. It was sad how much time I spent doing this and it all began back in my blissfully innocent days. As a child my step-dad (who owned a construction company) would often take me to home sites and show me the houses he was building. I would admire the spiral staircase in one home and the wooden beams in the ceiling of another. When I was about 8 or 9 we sat down together and he designed my future home… a three-story Victorian home (more like a miniature castle) with a wrap-around porch and a three car side-load garage.
He tucked his drawing into his portfolio and slid it under his bed.
We would look at the drawing every now and then and I would dream of my kids running through the front door and straight out to the back porch. I envisioned hosting family dinners in the stunning dining room with the massive bay window. I’m not sure if he actually planned on building this for me someday or if this was just a fun activity for us to do together. Yet, as a young girl living in a crammed two-bedroom apartment in a poor neighborhood, that drawing was my treasure, tucked secretly away in the back of my heart.
Years later as an adult, living comfortably in an outwardly ideal neighborhood in a house we designed ourselves, I was struggling to not fall into the discontentment trap. Trying to gain some perspective, I decided to find out what God’s thoughts were in relation to our homes. To do this I wanted to read how He “structured” the first “home” – the Garden of Eden. I prayed that God would show me His values as I opened my Bible and began to read Genesis chapters 1 and 2 (with a special focus on chapter 2 verses 8-22). As I read the passage, I began to unknowingly focus and meditate on the passages that talked about the river that flowed out of the Garden (vs 10-12 below).
There was a time a few years ago when I spent a lot of time comparing my house with others. It was sad how much time I spent doing this and it all began back in my blissfully innocent days. As a child my step-dad (who owned a construction company) would often take me to home sites and show me the houses he was building. I would admire the spiral staircase in one home and the wooden beams in the ceiling of another. When I was about 8 or 9 we sat down together and he designed my future home… a three-story Victorian home (more like a miniature castle) with a wrap-around porch and a three car side-load garage.
He tucked his drawing into his portfolio and slid it under his bed.
We would look at the drawing every now and then and I would dream of my kids running through the front door and straight out to the back porch. I envisioned hosting family dinners in the stunning dining room with the massive bay window. I’m not sure if he actually planned on building this for me someday or if this was just a fun activity for us to do together. Yet, as a young girl living in a crammed two-bedroom apartment in a poor neighborhood, that drawing was my treasure, tucked secretly away in the back of my heart.
Years later as an adult, living comfortably in an outwardly ideal neighborhood in a house we designed ourselves, I was struggling to not fall into the discontentment trap. Trying to gain some perspective, I decided to find out what God’s thoughts were in relation to our homes. To do this I wanted to read how He “structured” the first “home” – the Garden of Eden. I prayed that God would show me His values as I opened my Bible and began to read Genesis chapters 1 and 2 (with a special focus on chapter 2 verses 8-22). As I read the passage, I began to unknowingly focus and meditate on the passages that talked about the river that flowed out of the Garden (vs 10-12 below).
A river watering the garden flowed from Eden;
from there it was separated into four headwaters.
The name of the first is the Pishon;
it winds through the entire land of Havilah,
where there is gold.
(The gold of that land is good;
aromatic resin and onyx are also there.)
from there it was separated into four headwaters.
The name of the first is the Pishon;
it winds through the entire land of Havilah,
where there is gold.
(The gold of that land is good;
aromatic resin and onyx are also there.)
That’s when it hit me. The Garden of Eden is known for its perfection, its completeness, its provision of all humankind’s needs, right? But here it is, right in the Bible. The “good” gold was not in Eden. This gold, along with aromatic resin and onyx, was in the land of Havilah.
Now, I am no Biblical scholar and after some research I am not sure anyone knows exactly where Havilah is or how far it was from Eden (Wikipedia was of no help J), but the New King James Version of the Bible starts these verses by saying, “Now a river went out of Eden.” So it is safe to say that the land of Havilah was in the vicinity, but not inside of Eden. There may be many reasons why the writer specifically pointed out that these materials were in another land and not in the actual garden, but I asked God why He was showing this to me.
I have to admit, this bothered me. This, after all, was paradise and I expected to find all of life’s richest treasures to be within arm’s reach of Adam and Eve. I went right to God and asked Him why this perfect place that He had created for His people to live didn’t have all this fancy “stuff” that I had deemed important and necessary. Quietly and gently, He spoke to me. Sure, Havilah had gold and the resin, precious commodities to us humans. “But,” God whispered softly in my ear, “Eden had something far more precious… Me.” Genesis 3:8 confirmed this: “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day…” I was beginning to get it. I was grasping the value of relationships and letting go of the possessions. My house is more than a collection of precious commodities, but a dwelling for seven souls and a “garden” in which our family and our faith will grow. I could fill my home with the treasures of this earth, or I could invite God’s Spirit to dwell among us. I could focus on the deficiencies of my home or the sufficiencies of God.
During a recent Bible study the topic of longing came up. The Bible study leader explained that longings are good. We can long for perfection because we were created for it. But this perfection cannot be found on this side of heaven. We can long for a perfect home, but we must wait, patiently and faithfully, for our true home in heaven.
I’m sure I’ll never see that Victorian home my step-dad drew for me. When I left for college our relationship fell apart and I haven’t talked to him since I was 18. Despite this situation, I have now come to see my current home as a garden in which I am growing and nurturing my family in rich soil of love and faith. Still, I do long for a better home someday, the home that my Father is building for me. I don’t know if it will be made of gold or fine jewels, but I do know that it will have the most precious possession… God Himself… and that is all I need or want.
Now, I am no Biblical scholar and after some research I am not sure anyone knows exactly where Havilah is or how far it was from Eden (Wikipedia was of no help J), but the New King James Version of the Bible starts these verses by saying, “Now a river went out of Eden.” So it is safe to say that the land of Havilah was in the vicinity, but not inside of Eden. There may be many reasons why the writer specifically pointed out that these materials were in another land and not in the actual garden, but I asked God why He was showing this to me.
I have to admit, this bothered me. This, after all, was paradise and I expected to find all of life’s richest treasures to be within arm’s reach of Adam and Eve. I went right to God and asked Him why this perfect place that He had created for His people to live didn’t have all this fancy “stuff” that I had deemed important and necessary. Quietly and gently, He spoke to me. Sure, Havilah had gold and the resin, precious commodities to us humans. “But,” God whispered softly in my ear, “Eden had something far more precious… Me.” Genesis 3:8 confirmed this: “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day…” I was beginning to get it. I was grasping the value of relationships and letting go of the possessions. My house is more than a collection of precious commodities, but a dwelling for seven souls and a “garden” in which our family and our faith will grow. I could fill my home with the treasures of this earth, or I could invite God’s Spirit to dwell among us. I could focus on the deficiencies of my home or the sufficiencies of God.
During a recent Bible study the topic of longing came up. The Bible study leader explained that longings are good. We can long for perfection because we were created for it. But this perfection cannot be found on this side of heaven. We can long for a perfect home, but we must wait, patiently and faithfully, for our true home in heaven.
I’m sure I’ll never see that Victorian home my step-dad drew for me. When I left for college our relationship fell apart and I haven’t talked to him since I was 18. Despite this situation, I have now come to see my current home as a garden in which I am growing and nurturing my family in rich soil of love and faith. Still, I do long for a better home someday, the home that my Father is building for me. I don’t know if it will be made of gold or fine jewels, but I do know that it will have the most precious possession… God Himself… and that is all I need or want.
Every good and perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,
who does not change like shifting shadows.
~ James 1:17
coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,
who does not change like shifting shadows.
~ James 1:17
