By Sarah Rein
This spring, my husband and I hosted a weekly small group gathering in our home. Our church does this periodically, and it’s particularly enjoyable because the groups are a mixture of ages. Several of us had young children, but just as many had young grandchildren.
I confess – I find it intimidating to play hostess to women of my mother’s generation. I have only ever been treated graciously by women over the age of 70, but I secretly fear that they go home distressed by my comparative lack of domesticity. My four children range in age from 14 to 5, so there are a lot of chipped dishes and mismatched silverware. I recently confided in my mother about my apprehension and, instead of assuring me I was worrying over nothing, she brought over a glass ice bucket with matching tongs.
Want to know what else will stress you out about your home? Comparison. Spend about five to 10 minutes looking at curated online images of thoughtfully decorated, meticulously cleaned homes in perfect lighting, and your decade-old couch and mismatched throw pillows will set your teeth on edge.
Even on the days we embrace the chaos and practice gratitude, the upkeep of a home is relentless. Our home is a neverending to-do list of things needing to be updated, replaced, purged, or cleaned. We chase the moment of getting “caught up” on everything, only to find out it never arrives.
Such is the nature of life on this beautiful but frustrating earth. The never-quite-done home is just another symptom of all creation groaning for the return of the King. Christian – enjoy your home. Clean it. Decorate it beautifully. Use it to cook for friends and host small groups. And when the faucet breaks and the trim needs to be painted, remember C.S. Lewis’ words in “The Problem of Pain”:
“The settled happiness and security which we all desire, God withholds from us by the very nature of the world: but joy, pleasure, and merriment, He has scattered broadcast. We are never safe, but we have plenty of fun, and some ecstasy. It is not hard to see why. The security we crave would teach us to rest our hearts in this world and oppose an obstacle to our return to God: a few moments of happy love, a landscape, a symphony, a merry meeting with friends, a bath, or a football match, have no such tendency. Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.”
Sarah Rein and her husband, Trey, are raising their four children in Brandon, where Trey is a school principal and Sarah is home a LOT. Luckily she’s an introvert who enjoys reading and learning about new things and people. The Reins love their church family at Lakeside Presbyterian and coffee.