I am grateful I have come to understand…
how a house is a structure
with floors, 4 walls, a roof and a ceiling
but home is much more than that…
it is an awareness…a sense…a feeling.
Which means whenever my family is near
even if it’s just thinking about them
or talking to them on the phone
from the many places they may roam…
Wherever I am at the time…
I will always feel at home.
May we all be blessed to grow up in
and then provide a home
that is a safe sanctuary for our family…
A home filled with:
patience,
love
acceptance
forgiveness…
peace
and a feeling of serenity
When you’ve lived in a house for a long time…
every now and then you take a moment to pause…
and reflect on how you’ve learned to live with, accept…
and even come to love it’s little flaws.
But when you’re putting that house up for sale…
and it comes to those little flaws over the years your house has collected…
there’s a good chance a new family…would want those flaws corrected.
So we’re in the process of fixing what we can…as we prepare to sell…
while at the same time preparing to highlight the strengths
of a house that has aged and weathered so well.
A little paint and a few repairs…will go a long way to fix those flaws…
both big and small.
but what has made this house our home
are the memories we’ve etched upon its walls.
Our hope is that we’ll be entrusting our house
to a family with children not yet fully grown.
That a new generation will take the memories we’ve made
and add memories of their own.
For that is one of the wonders of a home
even though it is filled memories that have been etched upon it’s walls before
as long as it’s still standing…there will always be room for more.
We will observe potential buyers as through our house they flow…
and when that right family comes along…we’re confident we’ll know.
We’ll watch the couple as they enter the house
and when they silently squeeze each other’s hand…we’ll listen for their sighs
a host of future memories…unfold before their eyes.
When we feel the memories they make…will seamlessly blend with ours…
we’ will immediately understand…
and as we head off to the mountains…we’ll know our old home is in good hands.
It’s our hope they will love this house as much as we have…
and as the years progress will take a moment every now and then to pause
and reflect on how they’ve learned to live with, accept
and even come to love not only this old house
but all its little flaws.
I am grateful for being the captain of my friend ship
which as it sails across life’s ocean
has welcomed friends aboard along the way
has seen some go ashore at different ports
while others, I know, will be sailing with me
until my dying day
May we all be blessed to enjoy good friends in our life
for once good friends are formed
the bond between them lasts forever…
and can weather any storm…
We sat among friends at dinner the other night…
celebrating a new adventure Deborah and I are about to start
It was a moment filled with joy and laughter…
while it tugged at the fibers of our hearts.
And I thought how we all began as strangers
so many things about each other…unknown…
and as we came to appreciate, understand and enjoy each other
affection and friendships have grown.
As I looked at all the faces around the table
I tried to comprehend…
When was the exact moment…
we transformed from strangers…into friends.
How did we reach a point where we are comfortable…
where everyone’s at ease…
laughing, talking sharing stories of our lives, our loves…our families.
And again I had to wonder…how and when did it come to be…
these friends…once strangers…became part of our family.
But life is unpredictable, we never know what will happen day to day
which often brings a sadness…when good friends move away.
Yet there among the sadness…we find happiness with what we have achieved
for we have given the gift of friendship…
and the gift of friendship we have received.
We are confident once we move we will meet again…
and each meeting will be tenderhearted…
We will laugh and talk and share stories…as if we never parted.
Because we have experienced one of life’s wonders…shared only among friends
How friendship has no time limit…how good friendships never end.
Because all good friends who become old friends know the secret…
all friends will one day learn…
That friends never says goodbye to friends…they wait patiently for their return.
Imagine the world we would create…
If no matter where we roam…
we saw every person on this Earth family
and all of nature as our home.
