This House

I sit in this house tonight amazed at the hand of God. 

This is the house that my husband and I walked into 3 years ago and immediately fell in love with the hardwood floors.  This is the house where I prayed silently that God would allow us to be granted the good fortune of having our offer accepted.  This is the house our children joyfully ran through and claimed bedrooms.  This is the house where we planned to raise our family together.  This is the house we eventually moved into and started planning our life.

It was in this same house that turbulence slowly seemed to find a home.  It was in this house that my children were witness to scenes they should have never known.  It was in this house that I hid away in a bathroom and cried out to the Lord to give me guidance and wisdom.  It was in this house that we talked numerous nights about what was happening to us.  It was in this house that names were called and words were said which did more damage than any hands ever could have done.

This is the house where I stood last year and answered a door to receive a piece of paper telling me my marriage was ending.  It was on these beautiful hardwood floors that my child stood beside me not understanding why mommy was crying at the paper in front of her.  This is the house where I systematically began removing furniture and clothing while making plans for a new house, a new life.  This is the house where I walked into my children’s empty rooms for the last time before leaving my keys and walking away.  This is the house where I felt the bottom drop out of me.  This is the house where the tension levels were so great that something had to give- that something was me.

This is the house that I used to drive by and look at from the street thinking of all the memories which had been shared.  This is the house which we had claimed as our own.  This house was now a place I no longer had access to.  This is the house we would battle over in court.

This is the same house that I came to five months later and said, “Surely this is not the will of God for our family.”  This is the house where we sat for hours and cried and searched our souls.  This is the house where we both chose forgiveness.  This is the house where we reclaimed our family.  This is the house we dedicated to our Lord.

This is the house that I sat in last week in a room full of new friends praying together and reading the Word of God.  This is the house which is now centered in Christ.  This house, and its beautiful hardwood floors, is the place our family is being rebuilt.  This is the house which, only through the power of God, has become our home.