A House Vs. A Home

A house will not be a home if it's a mess - emotionally, physically, financially, or in any other sense you can think of. We have received a card on our anniversary that says, "It's love that makes a house a home." Very true, if we remember that love is not just a warm fuzzy feeling but also a conscious effort.

There are people who live in rented houses and say that since the house is not theirs, they do not feel like putting much effort in creating a home - and they don't have one, as the result. They just have a place to live, shabby and unwelcoming. Very often, when they do get a house of their own, they do not turn it into a home either. Why? Because they are not used to taking the diligent care that making a home requires. On the other hand, I have known people who had lived in rented property all their lives, moving often, yet they managed to turn each one into a wonderful home. Their children have the warmest memories about growing up and fondly remember each of the many homes they had as kids.

A home is a place where you are comfortable, secure, and loved. It's a safe haven where everything is familiar, convenient, and dear to you because it is filled with cherished memories. Even if your house is new and you have not yet accumulated many of those special memories, it will be a home if you make it one - if you fill it with love and comfort. A couple torn by endless conflicts will not have a home no matter how rich they are and how fancy their house is. If you don't want to go home in the end of the day because of its unpleasant atmosphere, then it is not a home. We see this in movies about the rich, and we see this in life, too.

My grandma lived in a simple log cabin without running water. She couldn't remodel it (it is a long story why), but all my family loved it more than any other place we'd been to. Grandma's cooking and homemade fruit preserves, her firm rule to first of all feed anyone who comes, her laughter, her stories about the old days and funny sayings I still quote ("Well, of all cows that moo, yours should be silent!"), her garden, flowers, fruit trees - I will never forget it all. Grandma had a Home that she happily shared with all of us. I hope I have learned her lessons, and my house is a home as well.