What makes home a wonderful place? That has to be one of the most challenging and epic of quests!
Is it acceptance, listening, kindness, and good conversations? Is it my Mom's onion bread or my Dad's popcorn? Is it my sons' stuffed mushrooms, juicing experiments or my daughter's homemade pizza? Or is it the stories? Of our ancestors? Shared joy? And the shared pain? Is it the stories of what we are working through? And the faith that we will succeed?
I believe the warmth and wonderful aura of any home is in the heart and souls of the people in it. It is the family members that bring the magic. To guard the home must mean then to guard our souls. And that is a daily challenge. I'm finding the path to making home wonderful as I welcome the next generation is still not easy. It is the work of my own soul that is required. I cry out again and again - How can this be done? I turn to my daughters and share three pieces of wisdom relevant to my journey.
In her poetry Instagram account my daughter spoke of something bigger than just the food or clothing - of a focus more than decorations or furniture. She wrote, "Cinderella left her shoes behind. She had bigger fish to fry." https://www.instagram.com/sapientiapoetry/
Another daughter wrote of the importance of temperament in an article "No More Grumpy Please," in which she shared the story of seeing a very young child at the museum crying and heard him say, " "I'm grumpy and mean...and I don't wanna be grumpy and mean!" https://andthentheyflew.blogspot.com/2015/01/no-more-grumpy-please.html And that describes so clearly the journey we face in our quest for a home of joy and meaning, the need to say to ourselves, "no more grumpy please."
Most succinctly, another daughter posted on my frig. "Love is a Battle Cry." And she named it. In our quest for the home that wraps its arms around us and comforts us, we come face to face with weaknesses within ourselves and challenges all around. It is no small thing to battle daily to both give and receive love, to forgive and to apologize, to live in grace and mercy with God.
How do you guard the state of your soul so that the cherished people in your home can draw strength and look to the cherished bonds of family as the greatest treasure of mortality? I don't have all the answers, but I'm seeking daily to engage in the battle, remind myself - "no more grumpy," and know that weighing in the balance are things much weightier than shoes.
If this could be said of my home, I would feel like home is a wonderful place and the souls of the people inside were creating it.
I like the way you talk to me
Even more, the way you listen
You’re holding a lantern for me
In the woods on a dark night
Allowing your light to define itself
And separate me from the shadows.
-Anna Rose Fisher
