I will admit, the last month has been draining for me. I spent many days trying to get our house ready to be sold. Painting, cleaning, and going through our “stuff”. Sarahn was my great little partner who would read to me, sing to me, and help me as I kept busy.

It wasn’t the labor that was hard for me. You see, just nine years ago this May, Doug and I began to build our house. The house we designed and helped build. It was our dream house. The house in which we dreamed we would see our kids grow up and in the one we would grow old. It is the house that we believe God had blessed us with.

There were days that I cried while I painted. I struggled with the thought of letting go of our house. When you buy or build a house out of love, it becomes your home. A safe place where your family can live, grow up, and make memories. First steps, first birthdays, first days of school, first bike rides, and much more.

It is one of the material things in the world that I think God is OK with, as long as you use it for Him. Our home has not just been a blessing to us, we believe God has used it for many more reasons. I started babysitting three beautiful girls and out of that came a friendship with a family that will be friends forever, we had countless WELL group (small group) gatherings, and many get-togethers with our friends and family — including some crazy, loud New Year’s parties. We refereed many kid sleepovers, opened up our home to a close friend and her two kids for an entire summer, hosted a family of seven from Guatemala for two weeks, made great memories with Doug’s brother and his family while they stayed with us, took in Safe Family kids that needed a home — which include a little boy that has captured our heart, and recently added three kids to our family for a week while our friends traveled overseas to meet the children they are adopting.

In this season of our life, God has provided us this house. All I know is that, Yes, I am sad to leave this house because it is our home, but the memories are in our hearts and they will stay with us no matter where we journey. As we transition into the next season of life, we know He has already picked out a new house that will fulfill His plans for us and He will make it our new home.

I leave you with some insightful thoughts from King Solomon in Ecclesiastes.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
A time to plant and a time to uproot,
A time to tear down and a time to build,
A time to weep and a time to laugh,
A time to tear down and a time to build,
A time to weep and a time to laugh,
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
A time to embrace and a time to refrain,
A time to keep and a time to throw away,
A time to tear and a time to mend.

Parts taken from Ecclesiastes 3:1-7 – NIV

Blessings,

Holly Harrold