What Makes a House?

This year has been full of changes for our family.  One such change has been letting go of my Grandma Barnhart's house.  Grandma has been in the nursing home since late April and her house has been sitting empty all this time.  On Friday (tomorrow) the house will hit the auction block and our family will say farewell to a 50+ year time period of a house that held so many memories.

This past Sunday our family got together to talk about the house and what it means to us.  A few of us have been struggling to say "good-bye" and we thought it would be therapeutic to talk about what we would remember most.

Me, Hayley, and Dad all shedding a few tears.  I have on sunglasses for a reason.

One of our favorite memories was Christmas Eve at Gran's.  It always included a trip to church, great food, drinking sparkling wine til you were hyped up on sugar, and Uncle Bill's present that he couldn't get open.  Probably the best was the year he had to break the jar on the front yard because I'd glued the lid shut.

Laughing so hard I cried

There was a wedding.  Easters.  Gran's monkey bread.  The goody drawer.  The door that holds all of us grand kids' and great grand kids' measurements.  The playhouse.  Numerous games of marbles.  Putting puzzles together.  And even two dogs...who were both named Sadie.

My Grandpa bought the house in 1959.  He used to wash the walls for Mrs. Maxwell (the previous owner) when he was just one of the poor kids in town.  He decided then that if he ever got the money he was going to own that house.  When Grandpa's businesses took off, and the house went up for sale, he bought it.  Gran always thought it was too expensive, but back in those days you didn't argue with the head of the household.  :)

For me, the house was where I got my spiritual backbone.  Gran was never pushy or overtly "religious" but she made sure you knew that Jesus loved you and He paid a price for you.  She read me Bible stories and taught me the Lord's prayer.  She counseled me when I had decisions to make or had just had a typical teenager fight with my mom.  The house saw many tears, laughter, and joy.  Once I moved away, she was one of the first people I would call when I needed an uplifting thought or some guidance.

Two summers ago Brian and I sat on the front porch with Gran and told her we were expecting.  "Praise the Lord!!!"  she exclaimed, "I thought you would wait too long!!"  It was truly the best reaction we got from anyone.

All this to say, as we shared memories the other day it became very clear that a house is just that: a house.  It's four walls of brick and mortar and a clay roof, but it's not a home unless the person or people you love are there.  The memories that we shared, while sometimes they involved rooms or spaces, could have happened anywhere.  What we have in our hearts can be taken anywhere, packed up and moved onto the next place-- hidden away for the day we'll tell our children and their children.

I'm not mourning about the selling of a house, I'm saying goodbye only to a period of time. The Bible says,  "To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven."  (Eccl. 3:1 NKJV).  Gran is 90 now, in good health other than her mind, but it's time for all of us to move on to the next stage of our lives.  We're no longer the little kids going to find solace at Gran's house.  Our children can now enjoy that time with our parents.  And as the circle of life finds it way around, it's time for us grandchildren to step up and help our parents and also our aging grandparents. 

Our family photo in front of the front door

Please pray for our family tomorrow.  Many tears have been shed but I'm sure there will be more to come.  Yes, it's just a house.  A house that will be forever in our hearts.

(And as a side note:  If anyone reading this decides to buy the house, realize you have big shoes to fill.  If you tear the house down or desecrate it in any way, I will come physically harm you.  Just sayin.'  :) )