It was a special treat each August to drive 7 hours to the north for our 2 week family summer vacation. I loved those 2 weeks. There were lots of predictables: exploring the BIG house and the attic over the garage, helping Grammie shell peas from her extensive garden, sleeping in the canopy bed, finding Grandpa’s special treats hidden in the chest freezer, playing in the sand and catching waves at Old Orchard Beach, a day at Lake Sebago with cousins, a family reunion at Aunt Madeline’s home where we always feasted on chop suey. And so much more. I think of the word repetition and the security that provided for me as a child. (I never saw this home in winter. And I’m not old enough to have seen cars like the ones pictured.)

My own bedroom in this tri-level was up the stairs and immediately to the right. My sisters shared the room over the garage. This is where I knew every family in the neighborhood. We rode bikes together, caught lightning bugs on summer evenings, played tag, walked through the woods together, and whatever else young children did.

My best friend lived two doors down. Her family was Catholic (ours was Protestant) and she attended the Catholic school. One memory is that she wore a uniform to school. Somehow that was attractive to me. I was a bit jealous.

This is where Mom and Dad moved to the summer I graduated from high school. I never lived there longer than summer breaks from college. But a lot of life events happened in this lovely home. I introduced Bill to my parents here; our wedding pictures were taken in the living room; we brought Mom and Dad’s first grandchild to visit one Thanksgiving. All positive memories.

Bill and I have lived in 10 different places, in 4 cities, in 3 states – Illinois, California, and Colorado. But this has been our home for 24 years. Our youngest son was a senior in high school when we moved here so this is our empty nest home. It has been a quiet place and a place to welcome guests. It is a place filled with stories and laughter especially when the boys come back with their families to visit. It is the only home our grandchildren have known. It is also the place where we were living when our biggest challenge happened.

This simple 700 square foot cabin in the Wet Mountains is our place to rest, reflect, refuel, to listen to God and the birds, to be. There is no internet, or oven, but all the other pieces of home are there. I’ve learned to “bake” biscuits on our outdoor grill. Our Sanctuary is a wonderful gift to Bill and me. Our habit is to spend the month of August there and as many weekends as possible before the snow flies.

“Surely the LORD is in this place (these places) and I did not know it.”
Genesis 28:16 (my paraphrase)

Unlike Jacob who voiced the above words, as I look back I do know the Lord was in and active in each of these places. I was experiencing Revelation 21:3, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.” This quote refers to our dwelling place in heaven. But truly I have experienced God with me in each of these places on earth.

Grammie and Grandpa’s home highlighted for me the importance of repetition. It was a big piece of defining us as a family.

The lesson of repetition also defines my relationship with God. I review almost every day scriptures that anchor me in God’s love and purposes for me; they bring truth to mind instead of those familiar lies. They often guide my prayer life as I consider current circumstances.

My childhood home was the first place I became aware that religion (not yet relationship) was part of who I was. I was not Catholic like my friend who wore a uniform to school. I was not Jewish like several other families in the neighborhood. And although my memory of church is cloudy from those years, I knew our family was Presbyterian and that’s where you would find us most Sunday mornings. The seeds of the spiritual were planted and watered in this home.

Those were the years I also learned the benefit of community. There was my playmate community, but there are also many good memories of our extended family community. Family gatherings for holidays and special events or at the beach in the summer were a normal part of every year.

Mom and Dad’s (until his death 20 years ago) home is the place I think of when I think of going home. This is where we related as adults.

Mom and Dad never wavered in their support. There were times that they didn’t understand my decisions and probably would have made a different one. But as adults they walked by my side, they listened, and accepted my decisions.

I want to be like that with our adult kids who also live long distances away. My desire is to be their biggest cheerleader.

Our Colorado home is tucked in the midst a tall Ponderosa Pines; their needles sparkle in summer sunlight, and bravely bare the weight of heavy snows, beautiful in every season.

We love inviting our friends in for dinner or overnight. They too enjoy the quiet beauty of this place. We love having our GRANDS visit and filling the house with laughter.

The quietness was the need of the hour 18 years ago, when we walked through the biggest challenge of our marriage. You can read about it here.

This protected place ministered deeply in those days.

Our Sanctuary is a dream come true. We started camping on the property about 8 years ago and fell in love with its off-the-grid lifestyle. We realized we needed a place away from our everyday normals. It’s simplicity, views of the mountains, and remoteness feed our souls and energize us to return home.

Each of these places hold special memories and life lessons that continue to guide us today. When Paul addressed the Men of Athens in Acts 17:22-28, he said, God determined the allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God…

And, yes, the significance of each of these places has been a step on my God journey.

“In my Father’s house are many rooms.
If it were not so,
would I have told you that
I go to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again and will take you to myself,
that where I am you may be also.”
John 14:2,3

I am looking forward to this place.