My Father's House

A few days ago, during snack time, one of the girls started singing the “big, big house” song by Audio Adrenaline.  Very quickly the rest of us joined in and we ended up laughing a good deal as we changed the lyrics here and there to include different games we like (since Mom doesn’t like football) and food we like to eat (since you can’t forget the ice cream!).  We had a lot of fun and it was a great time to talk about what heaven will be like and how God wants us to come live there with Him.  For those of you not familiar with this particular song, here is the chorus we were singing:

       Come and go with me, to my Father’s house
       Come and go with me, to my Father’s house
       It's a big big house with lots and lots a room
       A big big table with lots and lots of food
       A big big yard where we can play football
       A big big house… It’s my Father’s house

You may wonder why I bring this up today, and some of you who are more familiar with the stories told by the Chapman family about their daughter Maria may think you know where I am headed, but really I’m not.  Basically, I simply love that my girls love this song - even though I don’t quite know where they learned it.  Jolene knows the chorus because she has heard the Maria story, but the others have simply picked it up somewhere.  I know we’ve listened to it in the car before, but not recently and not on a regular basis.  Yet somehow they know it, they love it, and it is a perfect fit for where I am today.

You see, it has gotten quite cold here in Maryland quite quickly.  Being that we moved here in February this technically isn’t our first Maryland winter, but it is our first fall and it is our first introduction to how the cold weather comes in here.  And the last few days have been cold...  And wet...  And make me really want to get my car off our driveway and back into the garage.  Where it is warm...  And dry...  And not cold...  And not wet...  And thus, yesterday I did something a little crazy...

Many years ago, as we moved through our first adoption process, I vowed that I would not set up Jolene’s bedroom until after our paperwork was submitted China.  It just didn’t seem right to do anything so “official” until things were more “official”.  So, after we mailed off her dossier and after we received our log-in date, then and only then did I buy the paint, assemble the crib, shop for a dresser, build the bookshelf and do all the other such getting-ready things.  And then, once everything was put together, the paint was dry, the pandas were on the wall (and the bed, and the dresser, and the bookshelf…), we went back to waiting.  And waiting.  And did I mention waiting? 

With Becca, I don’t really remember when we set up her room.  I know it was sometime between starting her adoption process and bringing her home, but I can’t tell you a definite time.  Getting pregnant with Sophie while waiting for Becca put things in a little different light, and since it wasn’t our first trip down Adoption Lane things seemed a little more certain a little earlier than before.  Regardless, I am fairly certain it was after her paperwork was submitted and logged in on the China side that I actually physically put her crib together, ordered her new sheets and purchased a dresser.  But not so much this time…

You see, that crazy thing I did yesterday… that would be putting together Jack’s bed.  Yes, I know this is a bit premature.  And yes, I know that some people will think that I am totally crazy – I mean our homestudy isn’t even finished yet and here I am building furniture – but it made sense to me.  In reality, the idea arose because of the cold thing I was telling you about.  I really, really want to get my car back into the garage, but I simply could not do it while Jack’s bed was sitting in pieces where the bicycles need to go so that my car can go where it is supposed to go.  So, I figured, why not?  He’s coming home, right?  He’s going to be here someday, right?  God has definitely had His hand in this process so far, so what’s the worst that could happen?  I have too much faith?  I put myself out there in “trust-land” and things don’t go the way we are praying for?  Well, wouldn’t that just be terrible – to trust too much?  What a horrendous idea!   (Can you hear the sarcasm there?)  So I did it.  And it looks good.  And the girls think it is totally cool! 

And the best part?  God has already used that bed to send me a very important message.  I realized this morning that even though building the bed now seems silly, He has already put my bed together too.  In His big, big house.  The one with lots and lots of rooms.  Remember when Jesus told the disciples He was going to prepare a place for them?  Well, guess what, He was going to put our beds together!  I doubt it had anything to do with the weather or getting His car in the garage, but He started getting ready for us long before we would ever find it necessary.  Are we there yet?  No.  Do we need that prepared place right now?  No.  But we’re sure going to.  And isn’t it nice to know that everything is already there waiting for us?  Not just a bed, or a table full of food, but everything we need for all of eternity!

Can you imagine how it would feel for Jack to be told today that we already have a bed ready and waiting for him?  That we are THAT sure he belongs here in our home?  That we are getting ready for his arrival even without knowing when it will be?  So what greater message for God to give me than to remind me that He is SO certain of my place in His family, that He started preparing my place in His house before I even existed.  I don’t know about you, but THAT is one place I definitely want to go!  And I don’t care a bit if people think I’m crazy for already building Jack’s bed.  My Father has mine built too, so I am in very good company.  :-)

Big House – By Audio Adrenaline

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eozdE2G668w&feature=related

I don't know where you lay your head or where you call your home
I don't know where you eat your meals or where you talk on the phone
I don't know if you got a cook a butler or a maid
I don't know if you got a yard with a hammock in the shade

I don't know if you got some shelter, say a place to hide
I don't know if you live with friends in whom you can confide
I don't know if you got a family say a mom or dad
I don't know if you feel love at all but I bet you wish you had

[PRE CHORUS]  Come and go with me, to my Father's house
                             Come and go with me, to my Father's house

[CHORUS]           It's a big big house with lots and lots a room
                             A big big table with lots and lots of food
                             A big big yard where we can play football
                             A big big house… It's my Father's house

All I know is a big ole house with rooms for everyone
All I know is lots a land where we can play and run
All I know is you need love and I've got a family
All I know is your all alone so why not come with me?

Come and go with me, to my Father's house
Come and go with me, to my Father's house
It's a big big house with lots and lots a room
A big big table with lots and lots of food
A big big yard where we can play football
A big big house… It's my Father's house