what makes a real home?

A home is a house with a heart inside.

Author Unknown

She was a single mother with a five-year-old son and a ton of bills. Just to stay afloat, she rented a musty, cramped camper at a local RV park. She was embarrassed and discouraged by her surroundings. She cringed one day as she overheard someone ask her little boy if he wished they had a real home.

But her grimace was replaced with a tear and a smile when she heard him give this reply: “We do have a real home; we just don’t have a house to put it in.”

Maybe you’re not happy where you are and want more. But no matter how bad things look or how long the journey to get where you want to be, don’t get so focused on the future that you miss the good things you have right now. God has a good plan for your future—but He has also sprinkled gifts and blessings in the life you have now.  Make sure your eyes—and heart—are open to see them.

Even if it was only a trailer, the little boy saw what was real and what mattered. His faith, love, and optimism created something that was real in the here and now.

God sets the lonely in families.

Psalm 68:6

Excerpted from A Daybook of Grace (published by Fall River Press, 2014). Created by Mark Gilroy. Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other fine booksellers.