A Work in Progress...

We are working on our house. We have not moved in yet, but are doing a LOT of work to be able to move in within the next week or so. No, we are not building a house. We inherited the family farmhouse. It is 100 years old this year, and has been in my family since it was built. I love the history that house has.

It was built by my great-great-grandfather for his daughter, my great-grandmother. She taught school and sent the money that she earned to him for materials. When the house was completed, she married and they lived in the house for the rest of their lives. My grandfather was born in that house, along with all five of his siblings. When my Dad was a baby, he and his parents lived there while their house was being built next door. My parents still live in the house next door, and I am thrilled to be moving into this house. My kids will be the fifth generation of my family to grow up on this land. That's pretty amazing today.

So, since it has so much history, the house has also needed a lot of work. We have had a huge amount of help from our family and friends, and without them, moving would not even be a possibility. We have had a big push of work over Thanksgiving weekend, and that has put us well within sight of our goal. We are all very tired tonight!

I think that a house is always a work in progress. We will certainly not have everything done that we would like to before we move in. But we will work on it over time. I don't think that a house is ever really "finished", since there is always something more that can be done.

We too are certainly a work in progress. Constantly learning, growing, changing, there is always something more that can be done. God molds us, and sometimes we clay lumps need a lot of work just to see a small change. Still, I am thankful that God is ever patient with me. I have many faults, and many more things that can certainly be improved. I'm a work in progress, so long as the work continues, I am one step closer to my goal of being the woman that God plans for me to be. Unlike a house, however, one day I will be "finished", and that is a day that I look forward to with joy and anticipation. Perhaps that day is closer than any of us imagine. Perhaps Heaven isn't so far off after all.