A house filled with peace, with joy, with love, with forgiveness, where the Lord’s name was never raised in vain, where shouting nor demeaning never entered pretty well identifies the house I grew up in. A little 2 bedroom home on a peaceful road in far East Dallas but it, the vast majority of the time, was free of the angst contained in the preceding words.
I think the same can be said about the home of both my sets of grandparents, and not to my surprise, it can be said about the home I first visited in Fort Worth when I started courting Carole Beth Swart.
To be honest all of our children as well as all of us should be dwelling in such a peaceful place. A place where we can all grow in joy and love surrounded by the teaching of how great our Elder Brother is and about how much he accomplished and gave us.
As I write this awaiting the arrival at our home of most of my sons, their wives and all of their precious children I pray that Mimi and Granddad’s house will continue to be such a place. Tomorrow afternoon before we feast on the bounty the Lord has provided and Mimi has prepared we, one by one, will try to enumerate all that we are thankful for. Tears will fill our eyes, our voices will crack and we will somewhat struggle to find the right words but in the home where Mimi and Grandad live peace, joy, love, forgiveness and hugs all around will fill the room. And my heart will nearly burst with joy for the Lord blessing me and my family so abundantly.
The church at Indian Oaks, I pray will continue to be such a place. A place where sinners gather to hear about He who has given us so much. A place where all of the spiritual teaching becomes more than just words. It becomes His love put into action in our lives. A place where He reigns and His love permeates our lives and is made manifest by our actions one toward another. A place where my best friends reside, where I can tell them of my faults and failures and they will tell me they know and they love me in spite of them. A place where condemnation doesn’t reside and we don’t have to look very far in our hearts to find the ability to forgive one another. Because, to be very honest, hypocrisy should find no residence in our church but love must and should abound.
I pray Mimi and Granddad’s house remains a very special place for all of our family, where precious memories overflow but I pray also that place pales in comparison to the joy, peace, love, forgiveness and His Holy Spirit found in the little, loving, peaceful church found on Shawnee Trail identified as Indian Oaks.