The Beauty in Detail

This month brought the opportunity to see Drew & Ellie Holcomb live in Greenville. I strongly recommend you say yes to that invitation, given the chance. Together they sing a song called "Feels Like Home." Drew's strong voice meets Ellie's smoky tone, and I can close my eyes and wind through a Tennessee mountain road with the fog gently lifting to reveal the wonder of warm memories.

The first time I heard the song was just before Ruby, our youngest daughter, walked down the aisle, arm linked through Rick's, to join her husband and begin their life together. This is the same daughter who called after the third date to confess,

"Mom, he feels like home." We knew then.

The kids came this summer after we finished renovating this 2 bedroom cottage in the Blue Ridge Mountains. There were 12 of us spilling out into our neighbors' open arms to stay the week together. We had a ball! And then I heard Meghan, our oldest daughter, answer my mother when she asked what she thought of the place.

"It feels like home."

We hang it on our walls and fluff it into our pillows.

We light it in our candles and place it in our soap jars.

We cook it in our pots and bake it in our pans.

We plant it in our gardens.

We carry it in our hearts.

We share it with others.

There is so much beauty in the details.

As I think back to our recent conversation about the gift and love of hospitality,

I adore the thought of carrying "home" in our hearts. The recognition that comes from another when they are put at ease in your presence. They know they are seen and safe. They know something has slowed in the 2 of you which, in such a busy time as this, feels tangible.

I pray to have people come and share this space with us for a meal or a long weekend or something more. I envision Rick sharing the story of any given photograph that hangs on the wall, and I believe I can even hear the beer popping open on the back porch.

I pray it is a respite; that good food would nourish the body and rich stories fill the soul.

I can almost hear Madeleine Peyroux playing in the background.

But if you don't. If you don't have the chance to come, that is ok because I hope to carry that same respite for others in my heart. Maybe we will see each other soon!

My people do that for me, and I bet your people do the same for you.

Home is hope.

There is a reason these things resonate with each of us.

I believe when God says He has put the hope of heaven in our hearts, there lies the truest invitation. What we see and feel in part now, one day we will see and know in fullness. This home is a glimpse of what is to come, and it will be glorious.

Our efforts will pale in comparison.

When we live in a home and have this hope, I believe there is a responsibility to those who may not. As the weather changes and the season begins to turn inward, I pray an opportunity comes to all of us to share our heart & home with others.

That is the feeling I am after.

That is the beautiful detail that lasts.