When I was little I loved Doug Stone’s song “Little Houses”. There was something that resonated in me every time I heard that song. I haven’t thought about it in a long time, until recently when my close friend, Jamie, brought it to mind. She mentioned to me that she saw a sign recently with the words “Love grows best in little houses” and that the sign made her think of our house. As soon as she said those words I had this tug at my heart. Kind of like the feeling you get when you think of your kids and how they are growing up too fast. Or the same feeling you get when you see an old childhood friend that you haven’t seen in a long time. So, naturally, I had to listen to the song again. And that’s when I was reminded of the sweet lyrics.
Little Houses
Love grows best in little houses
With fewer walls to separate
We eat and sleep so close together
We can’t help but communicate
Oh and if we had more room between us
Think of all we’d miss
Love grows best in houses just like this
Now I don’t want to come across like things are picture-perfect in our little house. As a matter-of-fact, sometimes we can’t help but communicate in less than lovely ways. After all, in a small house, the words of this song may ring true, but the opposite scenario is also undeniable. While close quarters can certainly promote a deep, sincere love among family members those same small residences have the ability to create some natural tensions. Sometimes the communication in our family reaches a volume that is at an intensity no one appreciates and there are many times when the words uttered from our mouths are seriously lacking the love we have for each other. But, in an effort to work through our imperfections, we try our best to forgive.
Love Grows Best in Houses Like This
Although I live in a little house and there are, in fact, a few walls that separate us, I really think the last phrase of this song is my favorite…"Love grows best in houses just like this”. Because whether you live in a little house, like mine, or you get to call a much larger house your home the truth remains that love has the ability to grow the best right where you are…in the house just like yours.
Whatever type of house is our home is not the main point. It’s what we are doing within that home to cultivate love within our family and the fact that we have been equipped with the ability to love them in just the way that they need to be loved. No one else can do that quite like we can. And when we rise up to embrace whatever role we play in our home to the best of our ability we will, in fact, see that love grows best in houses just like this.
