Our Very, Very, Very Fine But Naked House

A couple of weeks ago I began slowly undressing my home.  First, I took off all of its jewelry: The candles and vases and momentos from travel and treasure hunts and childhoods.  Last week I turned its pockets inside out; the drawers full of tools necessary for various habits and hobbies.  Today, I stripped it of its accessories; the scarves around its windows and the pictures adorning its walls.  I look about the house, and even though it still has all its clothes on (aka, furniture), it just looks undressed.

Tomorrow evening our old home will be naked, and our new home will have the look of our older daughter when she was going through what we affectionately call her "bag-lady" phase...when she wore all of her favorite clothes at once, with a swimsuit over it all!

It is all so bittersweet.  I'm so excited about our new adventure, and every time we read a verse or devotional about obedience to God's direction, I feel a sense of joy that we are responding, and for once don't have that twinge of guilt that comes from ignoring my Father.  However, goodbyes are always difficult, and this time we aren't just saying farewell to a house, we are bidding adieu to a chapter of our lives; no...we are turning our backs on a former lifestyle altogether.

This is all new and different and scary and exciting and... I feel naked and exposed and vulnerable, just like my house.  Guess its time to clothe myself with the love of Christ and everything will be easy, cuz of Him.

Now Everything is Easy Cuz of You, Father