Be it ever so humble...

Like a lot of homeowners, I’ve got a list of projects waiting for my attention. Kitchen wallpaper is starting to peel, laundry room faucet drips, garage door needs staining, cupboard doors hang crooked, window crank won’t turn, the cable-TV wiring needs attention, the couch leg is broken, etc. Some jobs wait for a chunk of my available time to read the manual or dig up the right tool, some jobs wait for a chunk of available money, and some jobs wait for me to be annoyed enough to change my muttering into action. (Picture George Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” repeatedly having the top of the staircase post come loose in his hand, and complaining about “this stupid, drafty old barn” but never stopping to fix it.)

Sometimes this list weighs on me, and I feel like I’m carrying an unfair burden of dealing with other people’s mistakes or faulty workmanship or cheap materials. I confess that, like George Bailey, I have too often focused on what is disappointingly broken and imperfect in my “castle,” rather than all the things to be celebrated and cherished. I Scrooge-ishly measure how I think things ought to work and how long they should last—and I forget to live out my faith by thanking God that I have a home to mutter about, and a family to share it with… that I have good neighbors, people whom I want to know better… that we can afford to keep the place heated in the winter… that’s Nancy’s sense of style makes the place cozy and welcoming.

When I am visiting somebody’s house or apartment, it catches my eye if there is a plaque on the front door or entryway proclaiming, “God bless this home and all who enter here.” I appreciate this symbol of hospitality, this witness to knowing the Creator and the giver of all things. It’s a quiet reinforcement of the Judeo-Christian value to welcome God into the center of our lives, not just in the church building. While most of America is pretty comfortable hanging strings of lights and a wreath on the house for the month of December, and a few set up Nativity scenes in the front yard, it seems a different and compelling thing to name God as a permanent fixture in the place we live, to be seen and thought of every time you return home.

Of course, I’m guilty of overlooking similar symbols Nancy has placed in my own house, so it may be time for me to bring back Pastor John’s “prayer dots” that we were affixing to our bathroom mirrors and coffee-makers. My home-improvement list might take on a new category: how to thoughtfully create some visible changes and some new, Christ-centered family rituals to help remind me to be counting my blessings and praising God’s generosity. So that home is not just the place where I can scratch myself and walk around in my pajamas when I’m not having to fix broken stuff, but an environment that reflects God’s grace and faithfulness.

I’ll leave you with another image from “Wonderful Life,” depicting an old tradition which I hope makes a big comeback. George and Mary Bailey bring housewarming gifts to the Martini family’s new home, offering prayers symbolized by: “Bread… that this house may never know hunger… salt… that life may always have flavor… and wine… that joy and prosperity may reign forever.” May your homes be so blessed!