K

Do you ever wish you could turn back time to the days of Little House on the Prairie, Sunday suppers around a rugged wooden table and an afternoon nap under an old heirloom quilt? It seems as though those days are long gone with no recollection of the slow down we all experienced at some point in our lives – a feeling we continue to long for. Over the weekend, our little family all gathered in my Mama’s 100 year old kitchen for Sunday supper.

This moment was one we had all been praying for over the last few years as the old farmhouse was slowly transformed into the place our hearts all once knew. It felt familiar even though the generations before who created this space of peace and traditions were no longer with us to enjoy. It felt familiar because the foundation of faith, family and farm were still strong and alive. It felt familiar because our hearts connected with the joys of laughter from kids and the smell of chicken and dressing in the oven. It felt familiar even though time had passed, God remained. “For every house is builded by some man; but He that built all things is God.” Hebrews 3:4. If your heart is heavy and feeling homesick, go back. Maybe it is time for you to go back to where it started, go back to that place in your mind when you felt God most, go back to the old dirt road, go back to the smells, go back through the photos – go back to God. Friends, we are all feeling a longing of something more. Maybe that more is actually less, less of us and more of Him. “He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30.

You must remember as you travel through this journey that your home (heart) will always lead you back to your familiar. It may take years of renovations, immense sacrifice, loss of others, isolation and days of sadness, but God will always plant you where the soil is rich and your roots can continue to grow deep if you remain in faith. As we blessed our meal, that prayer was greeted with thousands of others those walls only know.  There were many years in between where darkness and cobwebs filled that room, but on Sunday, it was filled with the life and love of a family that never gave up. It was filled with four generations who see the value in Sunday suppers, prayer, togetherness and Jesus. “Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.” Proverbs 24:3-4. It was a reminder that taking the time to slow down with those you love can fill you up more than anything this world has to offer. That fullness does not come because of our own doing, but through God and the hope that we continue to cling to as we travel this journey to our ultimate home – Heaven.

I pray God prompts you this week to find your familiar. May He lead you to the place or thing that jump-starts the pieces you need to begin healing and restoration. Maybe it’s an episode of Little House on the Prairie (a show I watched with my grandmother in that old house), a homemade chocolate cake in the oven or a visit to a loved one’s resting place. I don’t know that you need to revive that feeling you once had but know that I am praying you find an overwhelming peace in the ordinary moments of days to come.

“And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.” John 14:2.

Blessings,

Kayla