Well, we have been in our new home for almost a week—I
can’t believe it! I wake up every
morning full of gratitude for our beautiful home, even if we still have very
little furniture in it. We
affectionately call our new place “The Green House,” not because the outside
paint is green, but because it was advertised that way, because it actually has
a small yard with real grass, flowers, and even a few fruit trees! This may seem crazy to some of you, but we
have lived in desert conditions for the past two years with absolutely no green
anywhere around our apartment—aside from one tree on the edge of the property that
shed like crazy and smelled funny. Each
day, I have looked outside and wanted to cry with joy, because I have a deeper
appreciation for such beauty after these previous two years.
Last night, when it was time to water the yard, we
had the kids throw on their swimsuits and chase each other around with the hose
on the grass, and I just sat there with a lump in my throat and the most
heartfelt gratitude that this moment gets to be a part of their childhood, just
as it was a part of mine and husband dear’s.
Every day, Imp goes out and collects hibiscus flowers and makes flower arrangements,
and then she and eldest daughter come in with armfuls of lemons from the lemon
tree (anybody got any good lemon recipes???).
We’ve seen more butterflies, and eldest son has spotted more new birds
then I’ve remembered seeing for a long time; and our children have been outside
playing more than they have in a long time.
I wax long on the outside, because it was the one
thing that we all dreamed of, when we talked as a family about what we hoped to
have in our new home—plants and flowers.
We prayed as a family; and now to see the answer, to get to experience
it…and for our children to know and see their prayers were heard and abundantly
answered—this is what overwhelms my heart with gratitude and joy.
There are many other blessings, I walk through every
room in our new home and smile and say a prayer of thanks, because God heard
our hearts and provided beyond what we asked just because He is so good, and we
are so, so grateful.
