My heart is aching to be able to make a house a home. As all of the details of our home are packed to move house, I don’t have my little pretty things - beautiful old books, favourite dishes, paintings, and lamps. I can’t believe how bare our house looks after putting away all these familiar things.
It might sound exaggerated to say that this has caused me pain, but it really has, and this is why. I care about beauty in my home firstly because God is beautiful. The new life God has given me, transforming and lighting up my world, shows me the beauty of his character and His love for me. By taking time and care over arranging a beautiful tea table or a comfy chair with a pretty lamp beside for reading by, I am not trying to say ‘look at me, look at my style, look at what I can afford’, I’m trying to communicate ‘look at God, look what He has done’.
The heart of a Christian homemaker is to harness the power of these little things, to make them whisper His name. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and the people shouted praise, Jesus said “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out” (Luke 19:40). There is a thread running through all of creation which leads it to praise God, and our humble homes can join in this shout.
When a home is treasured and shared, however big or small, however thriftily furnished, it cannot help but communicate the love of God to all who enter. If there is care taken over the beauty of that house, it is immediately obvious. It could be as small as a little glass jam jar on the table full of daisies picked by a child. Nothing fancy or expensive.
We make our homes beautiful because God is beautiful. Because His creation speaks of Him, we can use everyday things in our homes to communicate to our families and neighbours something of how He changed our lives. It is a privilege and a joy to share a home overshadowed by the beauty of God’s love.