A Home for Christmas

Christmas at the Holmes home

Most of us take for granted a home.  It is a given for many of us.  Your cozy bed that you climb into each night.  Your favorite blanket. The holiday traditions.  Your place on the couch beside your sweet dog or cat.  The smells of familiar.  All of it we enjoy each and every day and really, while it might be something that is just "there" for many of us, we need to take a few moments and relish in the blessing of it all.  It is certainly not a given for everyone.  A home should be something that is the norm, the status quo,  but sadly for all of our children, it is not.
Recently, a reporter came to do a story on our family.  She was doing  a little "feel good" segment for Christmas and wanted to know more about our family.  If you recall, my husband and I have 9 children, six of whom we fostered and adopted.  The sweet reporter took time to interview each of us.  We all tried to give the one being interviewed some space so as not to exacerbate the nerves we were all feeling, so we huddled together in the kitchen and listened
as the one on the "hot seat" was interviewed in the next room.

I heard our daughter, Hayley, be interviewed.  Hayley is a sophomore in college.  She came into our home at the age of 14 along with her siblings.  They embraced us  from day one and have honestly been "our kids" since the moment they walked into our lives  five and a half years ago.  But, the reminder of how important a home is came through Hayley that morning as she was interviewed. The reporter asked her what being adopted into our family meant to her and she confidently answered, "I have a home!" She continued,  "Friends at school wonder why I love coming home so much and it is because  I have a home!" Hayley's voice cracked as she said it and honestly, tears come to my eyes every time I think of her response...  I have a home!!

Hayley and I

This simple yet profound gift, a gift most of us unknowingly take  for granted, was paramount in this child's heart and mind.  We miss the treasure that a family and home really is.  As she poured out her excitement, I could hear the relief in her voice.  I could feel the sigh of satisfaction that having a home gives you.

She doesn't have to sit outside a Weigel's ever again and wait for the next move to who knows where.

She doesn't have to wonder where food will come from.

She doesn't have to wear the same clothes everyday.

She doesn't have to fear abuse, neglect, or strangers showing up at her door.

The police won't need to be called.

The bed has warm covers on it.

The pantry is stocked.

All of the things that she has come to know in a home are in place.  Relief.  Rest. Comfort.  Peace.  Safety.  All are there for the taking...to even learn to take for granted.

Oh friends, take a moment to appreciate the home you have before you. Look around and soak in the smells, sounds, and comfort of the familiar.  Go ahead.  Take a deep breath and soak it all in and maybe even say out loud "I have a HOME!". My prayer this season is that every child knows that blessing; the blessing of a loving, forever  home. It is a gift.  A gift one sophomore in college knows isn't a given.  Learn from her, dear friends.

Every wound healed.  Every child, a home.

Our youngest four shortly after moving into their forever home.