With Valentine’s Day coming up, everyone seems to be talking about love and romance.
Never one to follow the crowd, I’m staying true to character this week. Because romance hasn’t exactly been on the radar while I’ve been overseeing painting and pressure washing and cleaning to get our house ready to sell. Did I mention cleaning? My sisters would be impressed at all their domestically challenged little sister has done.
In the words of our real estate agent, “Your house will never look better than just before you sell it.” So true! A new coat of paint in the latest designer paint shade actually stung my heart with a brief moment of regret. The house is a good one, but I’ve never felt any great attachment to it. It’s the one I came to when a job transfer forced me to leave my dream house. But after the misadventures at the house we’re currently renting, I’ve gained a new appreciation for this particular house.
My husband was more sentimental about leaving it than I was. But while dusting cupboard shelves and cleaning closets, I’ve come across tiny reminders of all the living that went on here. From Barbie dolls and hand-sewn prom dresses to trading cards and beginning boy bands, the memories do tug at the heart. The laughter. The tears. The worries. The joy. If these walls could talk, what a tale they’d tell.
But time doesn’t stop, and neither should we. It’s time to let another family add to the stories contained within these walls. New voices. New hopes and dreams. New laughter and tears. And joy–lots of joy.
Lord, bless the people who will soon occupy this house. Surround them with your favor. May they know the blessing of the wonderful neighbors we’ve enjoyed. May their own family relationships grow strong and their roots deep, and may this home shelter them from hurricanes and lightning and floods as well as the intangible storms of life. And may their story here have a similar happy ending. Amen.
