"The most important work you and I will ever do will be within the walls of our own homes."
-Harold B. Lee (1899 - 1973)
As a kid, I never understood other kids who didn’t want to go home. I loved home. Even now a perfect day for me is when the schedule is wide open and I can kick it at home. I’m working on creating a home that my husband and kids love to come to—a place where they can rest, be themselves and be wrapped up in love. It’s harder now that I’m working—but that’s still my life’s aim. To create a home that draws them in. I read somewhere that they key is to keeping kid’s out of trouble to have a home that’s warm and a family that is tight—that way they don’t go seeking a substitute in the streets.
Yesterday, Rhyan and I stayed home and as he got dressed, he said, ‘I don’t want to go to school.”
“What do you want to do?” I asked him.
“Stay home with you Mommy.”
Perfect answer!
Now I'm not ignorant to think the answer will be the same 10 years from now. But it was the perfect answer for now. I just want this kid to know that every time he walks out the door, he's got a great home to come back to.
As I was driving this afternoon, I was listening to Fernando Ortega's sweet song, "A Prayer For Home." My sentiments exactly.
Prayer For Home
Grant them peace,
Most precious gift of all,
Keep the worried world
Far away and small.
When they return
May quiet fill their souls
Dearest Lord, keep them safe
Within its walls
May the stone
Be cool beneath their feet,
The canyon breezes
Circle soft and sweet.
When darkness falls
The stars and opal moon
Find them wrapped in each other,
Ever warm.
May it be a refuge for their love,
A harbor for their deepest prayer.
May they come to flourish in the grove,
Grow ever nearer to You there.
Many a burdened friend
In their company rises.
A heavy heart
Is soon released to fly.
May their table be blessed with laughter and with grace,
And by the comfort of kinship
Be surprised.
May the cold winds
Blow far from their front door.
May the winter rains
Never bring them harm.
May their hearth fires
Burn throughout the night.
Grant them sleep
Until morning's perfect light.
