A House Doesn't Make a Home

Another chapter of the Carlton life is coming to a close. Our First House will turn into someone else's house on Friday. I thought after our almost year journey of fixing it up and selling it, I would be rejoicing and so happy. However, I was not expecting the emotion that hit me like a freight train this week. So indulge me a little as I take you on this house's journey. . Mark and I bought this house in February 2004 after being married only 9 months. We bought it after looking at about 6 houses that day and it was the last. I don't remember what exactly drew us other than it did not have green shag carpet or a knights armor on the wall. In our minds it was ours and that was all that mattered. Over the years we have changed jobs, had kids, had a business, lost a business, and made life changing decisions all inside those walls. About a month after we moved in, our home's real journey began. We took in our first house guest. I am still amazed at what providing a bed, shelter, and food can do for a person but most importantly what it can teach you. Carrie would be a house guest from time to time over the last 8 1/2 years and it was a privilege to have her each and every time. She taught me what love with no strings was all about and has become not only a sister in law but a friend. Another house guest early on was Kevin. We provided that transition place for him at a time that he needed that support. Kevin taught me to look past failures and forward toward possibilities. Myrenda came to prepare for her journey to college for a month. Myrenda reminded me what starting a new chapter in life was all about just as Laura was coming and I would be beginning one as well. Tim would stay with us from time to time as well. Tim taught me what loving people through the tough things in life was all about. My last house guest was Brooke and she taught me more than all the others combined. She taught me what unconditional love was all about. What breaking down walls meant, what true transparency meant, what serving without boundaries meant, and is not only my baby sister but my very best friend. We never went without all those times of having people in our home. Our kids may have rearranged their world a bit at times, I may have had to move a few pieces of furniture, but we were never completely out of space. I might mention that our house was only 1000 sft. God did amazing things with space and closets that I never knew was possible. In the last year there we had someone there almost the entire time. God stretched the house to meet all our needs and as you read above, taught me more than any inconvenience any of it may have caused. Mark and I know that while we may not be overseas missionaries, we definitely have a mission in our home. I remember the place I found out we were having Laura, the letter I wrote to Mark, and the weeks of sickness that would ensue. We had Laura in August of 2005 and I brought her home. I still remember the first night she was home and how rough it was. The black chair (which I still have) that I rocked her and spent many a sleepless night in. Laura took her first steps there, she spent the first 6 years of her life there. The house is full of memories of her doing all the firsts, all the big things toddlers do. I will remember the front door fondly as the time out spot. Laura began her love of crafts at our kitchen table and hasn't stopped creating since. I remember the exact place we were laying in the living room floor when I told Mark that Lane was on the way. Lane too was brought home there. Also rocked in big black chair and took many of his firsts there and spent the first 2 1/2 years there. I remember bringing him home from both surgeries on his ears and crying many a night because I couldn't help him feel better. I remember the morning he was so sick and we thought we were going to lose him. How a suctioned his nose and mouth and just prayed. He gave me all the trials a second kid might give their mother there. I remember the conversations in those walls, the friendships developed, the marriage foundation built in that house. I remember the exact place we sat as we heard my step dad passed away. I remember the exact place I wept when my aunt had her heart attacks and I thought we would lose her. I remember mourning lost jobs with Mark. I remember celebrating gained jobs with Mark. Mark and I were able to live, love, and laugh there and that's what makes a home. The simple house at 2654 W Blackburn was not just a house. It was a home. A home built on love and the realization that God was bigger than the 1000 sft and fixed income. We definitely did not do everything right but I know at the very least we were obedient. I remember the exact moment that we decided to move out of 2654 W Blackburn. The events that surrounded that decision were not necessarily the happiest but it was an opportunity of a life time. One that I am well aware we did not and do not deserve but one God provided none the less. We spent a long time repairing what a few years will do to a house, sold it, and will close this Friday. I do not know at this time what exactly the future will hold. My prayer and current plan is to buy a different house. One that too has a legacy, a story, and a set up that will allow us to serve and minister to many more people in our lifetime. We have been able to live there the last year and want nothing more than to stay. Even if God has something different in our next chapter of life, I can be assured it is for my good and His Glory and I can be even more assured it will be bigger than I ever dreamed.