by Anna Haiar

A Place to Call Home

“Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.”
Psalm 127:3 (English Standard Version)

There are shoes everywhere in my house. Sneakers are kicked off by the front door and flip flops are left abandoned in the hallway, succumbing to the will of whoever trips over them on their way up the stairs. No matter how many times I remind my children to pick up after themselves, the clutter always seems to return. And I’ll admit, it drives me a little crazy!

Something happened recently that made me look at those shoes a little differently. Our oldest daughter started high school this year. High school! I’m still trying to wrap my head around how we got here so quickly. Just last weekend, she attended her first homecoming dance. As I watched her get ready, I couldn’t help but think about the little girl who once needed help putting on her shoes. Now here she was, dressed up and heading out the door to a high school dance.

I’m not entirely sure when that happened.

Parenting has a funny way of making the days feel long and the years impossibly short. We spend so much time looking forward to the next milestone that sometimes we forget to appreciate the season we’re actually in. Psalm 127 reminds us that children are a gift from the Lord. Not because parenting is always easy or our homes are always peaceful, but because God has entrusted these precious lives to our care.

Scattered shoes are a reminder of a season that won’t last forever. One day, there won’t be so many shoes by the door. The backpacks will disappear, the house will grow quieter, and I’ll probably find myself wishing for just a little of that familiar chaos. But through every changing season, God’s faithfulness remains. The same God who fills our homes with life and laughter also walks beside us as those seasons change. And through Christ, He gives us something even more enduring than the fleeting joys of this life: a place in His eternal household. Our children grow, our homes change, and time marches forward, but the love of Christ does not. Through His death and resurrection, He has secured for us a place in our heavenly Father’s house—a home where we will always belong.

Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado