Place and Home

Two weeks now in this new home. And, as life tends to be around the Jenkins house, it's been quite eventful. Amongst loads of cleaning, unpacking, organizing, reorganizing, arranging furniture, rearranging furniture, moving the furniture outside because the next-door laundry room hot water heater burst and flooded our downstairs, recleaning, rearranging, etc., there's also been a fabulous flurry of people in and out: four dinner parties (one of which was for 16 people for our home group), houseguests for two nights, a host of spontaneous visits and playdates with friends that live further away, as well as delightful entry into the lively community immediately surrounding us. This area is abundantly more conducive to community than apartment living, and therefore is so much more enriching and ideal for our style of living! For example, last night we enjoyed going to an engagement party for a couple just across from us, that although we have only known for two weeks are quickly becoming close friends simply through proximity and chatting together most every day while their 3-year old son plays with Cora. Tonight, as we ate dinner together as a family in our "backyard", a huge green space shared by all the surrounding townhouses, some neighbors brought us over some incredible chicken and lamb they had just grilled out insisting that we try some (which ended up falling like a little gift from God as our simple vegetarian meal turned out to be a bit lacking.) In typical Filipino fashion, it required four times for us to finally assure them that we had plenty and didn't need anymore. It's all exactly our cup of tea.

As it's a pedestrian-only neighborhood full of families, it's also so perfect for Cora. She has so many playmates and is enjoying much more outdoor time than was possible in our apartment. Here are the three musketeers who have been almost inseparable these past couple weeks:



Being here has helped me understand better the importance, and distinctiveness, of place and home. We can make a home anywhere, and it will be rich because it includes our family and hospitality and good food and a comfortable atmosphere. But choosing the right place for our home is crucial for augmenting the values we hold as a family, those of community and simplicity and sharing and leisure time not predominantly spent in front of a television or computer, but in the company of God image-bearers. We won't always find a fit like this--being in family housing on a large university campus obviously has the advantages of diversity, children, and varying intellectual pursuits. But the value of community-style living that we experienced in our community house combined with having our own space and home is something I hope we can work hard to find wherever we end up in the future.