"It's gone! Totally demolished!" Those were my horrified words even though I'd been warned that our old farm place had been torn down right to the ground, trees and all. But still when I saw it for the first time that was my reaction. As I calmed down & accepted the reality after driving away, the Lord really ministered to me. He said: "It's only buildings that are gone and they had been gone for a long time. What was there & everything that went on will stay with you in your memories for as long as you live. That will never be gone or demolished or taken away from you."
It's true. I have been writing about my home life, my memories and all those roads I've walked. Each road wherever it happens to lead me, there will be something that seems in some way... Familiar. Uncanny how a road I've driven down for the first time will often remind me of the road: 'Home'.
Every road, no matter where I traveled, I found a resemblance somewhere of the old home place. I had written a story many years ago when I started to take my writing career seriously, titled: 'Our Piece of Prairie Sky'. I wrote the story our Dad told me while he and I sat at our evening campfire. He loved our place with his whole heart, and he said it didn't matter who owned this land someday. It would still be under our piece of Prairie sky. My Dad had told me that story many times while I was growing up and I never got tired of hearing it. There must have been something in my subconscious that really wanted to make sure I remembered it for always. Deep down I knew everything was going to gradually change one day but I kept that memory solid in my heart. Happily came the day when I wrote about it because now it will always be somewhere for someone to read. I am so thankful and blessed about that memory. It has been published several times; however, I never sold the copyright. When I was younger, I could never imagine leaving home and he used to laugh & say: "Oh you will grow up and change your mind." (True enough). But at that time he said: "For your mother and I we will always be here." He'd raise his arm, look up at the sky and draw an invisible circle all around us. "See that blue sky up there?" I nodded. That goes right up to heaven. "Well, that will always be ours no matter who owns this place after us. Even someday if you drive by and there is nothing here, the sky will be over that piece of Prairie sky. It will still be in the same place. Everything of importance happened right here for you Mom and I and the family.
I have kept that memory & he was right because of course when I became a teenager, I couldn't wait to get away from the farm and go live with my sister in the city.
And now when I take my little road trips, I always find one that has a resemblance to our old country road and I feel right at home again. We are only on this earth for a short time. We are passing through and we'll have our own Eternal home one day.
Therefore, I truly enjoy traveling these roads less traveled & as I pass many that will soon disappear, they still bring me so much joy.
I imagine they too, were once the heart & soul of the family, just as ours was.
I recall the old times and how often we used to get caught in the rain coming from school or stuck in the mud trying to ride our bikes down muddy trails right after the rain. Dashing outside and splashing through puddles in my bare feet, then coming up to sit on the steps to dry off while Shep, my border collie, would shake himself dry right all over me again. Mom would have a fit... One of her rare little hissy's which we teased her about forever.
Inside the house... Always the smell of bread baking or stuffing from a chicken in the oven or a nice big pot of soup with biscuits. Most of all the old-fashioned, homemade cocoa before bedtime at night. Amazing how all that chocolate and caffeine never kept me awake.
So home is where the heart is. Definitely. And every little road I travel, every little path through the woods that I venture into, still leads me to that one place: Home.
That is what we can look forward to when we go to be with the Lord. We will be on that road leading home and there we will stay. We won't want to go anywhere else because He has promised us a bright and happy future. The Word tells us all the things of the earth will grow dim & fade away when we sit before His glory and grace.
So rejoice today Dear Readers because we are children of the King and we will have a home that we cannot even imagine what it'll be like. Our faith is His PROMISE that we will dwell in His house with Him forever. For today Dear Readers, allow the joy of the Lord to be your strength. Try not to worry about the road ahead even if it looks bumpy or uncertain & frightful. I, for one, know this is easier said than done but I cling to the PROMISE that this too shall pass. Blessings.
- Excerpt from "101 Roads" by Marlane Lillian Mazur.
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