Home
According to Laura Ingalls Wilder, “Home is the nicest word there is.” Pa, Ma, Mary, Laura, Carrie, and Grace moved often and lived in several states, but Pa and Ma gave their girls that secure place called home. When the red-checked tablecloth was on the table, the china shepherdess was on the shelf, and Pa was playing his fiddle in the twilight, the Ingalls family was at home. The girls lived securely in the knowledge that their strong Pa would feed and defend them while their gentle Ma would care for and train them. They knew that Pa and Ma would always love each other and love their girls.
When Jesus comforted His disciples on the night before He died on the cross, He talked to them about the home He was preparing for them:
“Do not let your heart be troubled;
believe in God, believe also in Me.
In My Father’s house are many dwelling places;
if it were not so, I would have told you;
for I go to prepare a place for you.
If I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again and receive you to Myself,
that where I am, there you may be also.
John 14:1-3, NASB
When God said, “Let there be light,” there was light. When He said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear,” it was so. Surely Jesus could have spoken and our heavenly dwelling places would also simply appear, but for some reason He had to go and prepare. Our home-making takes preparation, too. Even though our children are grown and married, I still have a home to care for. I still have preparations to make.
I want a home where I live joyfully with my husband, a place where we welcome friends, other family members, and guests. I want a home where our children, their spouses, and their children feel welcome and at home. I want our home to be a place where our children can enjoy each other, a place where they can remember their childhoods and share those memories with their children. I want it to be a place where they can make new memories with their spouses and children. My mother loves to share stories about going to her grandmother’s house. I want my grandchildren to share “going to Grandma’s house” stories with their children, too.
Making a home takes selflessness and sacrifice. It takes loving our husbands no matter what, so that as far as it is within our power, our children come home to both Mama and Daddy, no matter how old they are.
Laura Ingalls Wilder loved the home that her parents gave her and her sisters. Late in life, she wrote down stories from her childhood that have been enjoyed by generations. People who love her stories have preserved the places where she lived. Ray and I have enjoyed visiting most of those places. Our family has recently published a guide to her homes so that others can visit them, too.