The house that built me..

"The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; 
   surely I have a delightful inheritance." Psalm 16:6

Needless to say, I love me some Miranda Lambert but especially her song, "The House that Built Me."It is absolutely a song that anyone can relate to. It reminds you of your childhood home where you grew up, made mistakes, learned right from wrong, made friends, met boys, where you learned from your siblings, and where you came together as a family every night around the dinner table. Well for me, that house is 26 Dover Circle in good ol' Bossier City, Louisiana. I lived in that house since I was 3 years old until this summer as a 19 year old. Wow, our family has worn out that house... because it was not only a house but a home. In that home, I peeped through the stairs every Christmas to see what Santa had brought, I learned to always close the blinds before you skinny dip, I realized how blessed I am to have my siblings (no matter how far apart, we will always be close).  In that house, our family went to through everything.. we learned to love, we grew together.. then we grew apart, and only some of us came back...
 I guess you could say one of my life quotes is "God allows everything to happen for a reason."-- without firmly believing that struggles make you stronger, that God allows things to happen so you can help someone else, and to trust Him is to know Him,  I don't know where I would be today.. physically, spiritually, emotionally.. etc. With God's help, I am becoming thankful for the struggles of life. I was affirmed that when I went back to 26 Dover Circle last week to pick up my last few items in the house... I grabbed my prom/homecoming dresses, a yoga mat (randomly, I've never done yoga), and a picture of my great grandparents (whom had to be the sweetest, Godly examples-- so thank for their legacy). But as a came upon a big pile of portraits, I couldn't help but cry when I saw the big portrait of our family in our beautiful yard that used to hang over our fireplace. I didn't know if it was going to the trash.. or to storage.. but where would those sweet memories go? All I can say is those sweet times made me who I am while the struggles did too. So for that I am thankful. To dwell on the hurt would be a waste, but to see how God will use those "low times" in life will hopefully be amazing :)