Years ago, Sarah and I (along with Joel!) escaped for a few weeks to work together on one of my favorite books, The Lifegiving Home. I hope you will be encouraged by these words:
Leaves of crimson, gold, and brown drifted down upon the roof of our car as we slowly meandered on the winding road, gazing out at the mysterious woods on either side of us and the flowing stream that seemed to follow our course. The sweet, melancholy notes of a Celtic CD streamed through the car as each of us lost ourselves for the moment in our own dream worlds.
In that season of my life, as the mother of three teenagers and a bubbly little seven-year-old girl, I rarely had a quiet moment. This drive provided a soothing moment, a badly needed opportunity just to breathe. The soft music lured me to a secret escape inside, while the pathways leading through shad- owy woods captured my imagination, providing a momentary break from mundane reality. And how I needed that! My heart was desperate for some new inspiration and rest from my draining and demanding days. Would I find it on this trip?
All six of us Clarksons had piled into our van to get away to Asheville, North Carolina, for a weekend of family adventure and escape. Now we were approaching the Biltmore, the famous home that George Washington Vanderbilt II planned and constructed more than one hundred years earlier.
We rounded a bend, and a stand of tall, shimmering ash trees opened up to a breathtaking view. The grand tree-lined entrance in front of us led to a four-story French château–styled structure. Designed as the dream project of Mr. Vanderbilt’s life, Biltmore stood with castle-like grandeur against a dramatic backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains. …
As I toured Biltmore, my imagination and vision were once again piqued by the idea of intentionally making my home a holding place for all that is beau- tiful, good, holy, and foundational to life—a place where those I love always feel like they belong, a place of freedom and grace that launches them into the persons they were made to be, a place of becoming. In the midst of demand- ing, constantly pressured lives, we all need refresher courses from time to time about what we are building and why we must be intentional about doing it.
My mom used to put it this way: “All people need a place where their roots can grow deep and they always feel like they belong and have a loving refuge. And all people need a place that gives wings to their dreams, nurturing possibilities of who they might become.”
Creating such a place does not require building a mansion as Vanderbilt did. We are all capable of creating a lasting legacy in the form of a home that gives life to others who come under its roof.
A home that serves all who enter.
A home that reflects our own tastes and the values we treasure.
A home that meets the needs of family and visitors alike, that fosters beauty and creativity.
A home where the atmosphere, traditions, and celebrations give life to the hearts, minds, and souls of those inside its walls.
A home that provides a lifegiving legacy that will last for generations to come.
I believe God has designed us to do just that.
