Pulled into the wrong driveway?!

I arrived home the other day, tired, I pulled into my driveway with lots of stuff from Costco, and groceries from my favorite discount grocer. And for a split second I actually thought I had pulled into the wrong house. After living in this house for 14 years, how could I even think that!?

As I had written about in my Friday Fave Five, our house has undergone a total home makeover! We had a horrible hailstorm/F-1 tornado in our area back in March. The hail did enough damage to our 22 year old roof to justify a whole new roof compliments of Allstate. And we were able to get most of our siding, and shutters replaced also. Truth be told I had really gotten quite sick of our country blue shutters ( think late 80’s color) and creme siding. I secretly dreamed of new siding, but knew it would never happen. The roof on the other hand we desperately needed, we had been nursing the old roof along while we figured out a way to pay for a new one! But on that stormy day in March everything changed!

So now we have a house that looks TOTALLY different on the outside! I have gotten so many compliments on the house from the neighbors, and I must admit I do love the new look.
But you see, that is all it is, just a look. It’s still the same messy, busy, laundry filled house on the inside. With a floor clamoring to be mopped, a kitchen filled with good food and love, a basement that caters to fun family times, and an unfinished section of the basement that smells horrible because of the two pet bunnies and guinea pig that live there. It’s still our home filled with special memories, and times spent together. The inside is the heart of our home.  And that has not changed.

It reminds me of this verse from 1Samuel 16:7

7But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

This world puts a great deal of emphasis on that outward appearance.  How you dress, your hair style, the latest fashion and home trends are a big profitable business.  Regardless of media’s constant emphasis on how you look and how your house is decorated, I can take great comfort that in the big picture of it all, it truly does not matter!  After all, God looks at the heart!!! 🙂  And the heart of my house is what happens inside that cool looking exterior.  The inside of our home is what we are working to  build for eternal purposes! 🙂