Home is a place of honesty!
Think about it . . . in healthy families and friendships, we are honest with each other.
Sometimes brutally so . . . but if we can’t count on our families – those that are supposed
to love us unconditionally – to be honest with us, who will be?
Over the break between Christmas and New Year’s the Smith family spent quality
extended time all together for the first time since last Christmas. Now – this sounded
ideal during the planning stages, and truly – we wouldn’t trade the memories for
anything. BUT . . . goodness, the acclimation of family/and the sense of “home” after
being apart for a year was quite an undertaking. It seems that now all four adults have
adult opinions and weren’t/aren’t afraid to share them with one another. Very openly and
honestly!
The conversation that stuck out was one between the offspring as they were talking to
one another about appearances. One seemed to have a strong opinion about what the
other should do regarding his/her self-presentation. The sibling’s reply to the feedback
was, “I don’t know why you have to point out to me all the things you think I need to
change, or what you don’t like.”
The feedback giver said, “If I’m not honest with you, then who will be?”
Silence. That was the truth.
In the comfort and security of our homes, if we allow honesty to be a pervading
experience, we will find the truth. And – upon finding the truth, we can better see what we need
to demolish in order to change.
Have you ever had to move homes after living somewhere for 15 years or more? When
you do, you find that there are a lot of things/stuff that has to be moved. And most people
find that at that juncture in their lives they don’t need all that “stuff” they’ve needed all
along. So they purge things that they’d been holding on to for a long period of time.
Our homes should subtly evolve over time to reflect the different stages of our
development. We’ll notice that our homes change as our families change. As that
happens – our homes will change accordingly.
“Our personalities aren’t fixed – we’re changing all the time, and it makes no sense, from
a psychological point of view, to stay static. Your surroundings should reflect that,’ says
Moore. ‘People can get into a routine about things: having a favorite chair, or their side of
the bed, or a certain spot on the sofa. It can be good to shake these things up, so they
don’t become too habitual. Rearranging and redecorating a home is no bad thing –
change can be good and stimulating.’ 1
1 https://www.psychologies.co.uk/self/how-to- make-your- house-a- home.html
2 Timothy 2:15
15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does
not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.