June 30, 2021
The Great Finish
“The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,” says the Lord Almighty. “And in this place, I will grant peace,” declares the Lord Almighty.
Haggai 2:9 (NIV)
I’ll admit I have lived in some pretty great towns and houses in my lifetime. My first memory is my early childhood home in Honolulu where my dad was stationed in the Navy. Our house was not fancy, it was Navy housing. I learned on a trip back to Honolulu 30 years later that the housing development had been condemned and destroyed due to lizard infestation – Lizards! I would not recall what fancy was back then, as a girl growing up in the 1970s. I remember my mom’s plumeria tree in the back yard, her beloved rubber plants that had to be cut back every year because they got too tall and interfered with the antenna on the house. I remember the banana trees my dad would cut big bunches of bananas from and hang in our outside closet. I remember all the kids playing out in the middle of the cul de sac and the large tree we took turns climbing. The neighborhood kids loved to take turns watching the Brady Bunch at each other’s houses then running outside to play before it got dark. Back then the house represented peace in my childhood, although I did not know what it was called at the time. I just knew how I felt.
In my adult life, I have lived in large, very grand houses. Some people called them ‘show places.’ I enjoyed living in beautiful houses in nice neighborhoods or out in the county. I have fun memories of entertaining guest, bringing home my babies, and raising my kids in these houses. But what I really desired was peace. There were many times my home on the inside was not as it appeared on the outside.
My home now is not extravagant. It is a small, traditional house. My neighborhood is older, diverse and it is safe to take my nightly walks to the park nearby. I have decorated it with things I love and have even planted a banana tree in honor of those we had in my childhood backyard. It is the first house I have owned by myself. I am now in charge of maintenance, upkeep, and paying the bills, etc. Despite the new responsibility and sometimes stress of being a homeowner, what I do have now is the peace I have been desiring.
The peace did not come the minute I signed the papers for the mortgage or the first night I slept in the house. The peace has been coming slowly over the past 4 years. It has been a crucial part of my healing.
In Haggai, the former house was the Temple that was destroyed by the Babylonian armies. And remember, the former temple was the one Solomon built so it was very grand! What I’ve learned in my life’s journey is that Grand does not equal Peace. This peace comes from knowing God as my heavenly father. This peace comes from my relationship with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. It is a peace I work at daily. My life changed dramatically 4 years ago but I trust God’s plan for me. I have had extremely hard days and trials. But God has rescued me time and time again. From this, I draw the peace of knowing he will continue to fight for me. I know there will be more hard days and trials to come but I know God will fight for me. I don’t know what the plan is for me or my next path I’ll take, but I’ll wait serving, glorifying and trusting him. He has provided me with this small, oasis of peace in my home. And, I can take this peace with me, in my car, to work, to church, and to opportunities to serve others.
I love the Message version of this verse: “This temple is going to end up far better than it started out, a glorious beginning but an even more glorious finish and a place in which I will hand out wholeness and holiness,” Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies
I am going to end up better than I started! I will have a glorious finish! And, I have the God of the Angel Armies on my side.
Beauty from Pain 