Article January 15, 2007 Issue

TO FIND THE HEART OF HOME

BY TERESA ALLEN

It seemed the perfect time to have that home we'd been hoping for—one that would better accommodate our growing family. Here it was, a window of opportunity when building costs were down and the best contractor we knew was available. All we needed was the right lott to build it on—or so I thought. In the end, I learned, what we really needed was to learn more of the spirtual lessons and joys that come from following God's plan.

We searched for lots, week after week, but none of them satisfied everybody. My husband didn't want to give up bicycling to his office for environmental reasons. A move would disrupt the school year for our children. Our oldest child worried that changing schools meant she'd lose her friends. It looked as if the right place just wasn't out there.

I'd long cherished this building possibility as one that would bless not just our family but the builder and his subcontractors and suppliers, by providing work and contributing to the local economy. But the location question had us stumped. Actually, I was the one stuck—stuck in a view of home as a particular place, constructed in a particular way.