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So in this state of economic  crisis many people in my county have lost their homes.  For awhile we were the number 1 foreclosure county in the country…so sad…i now know what that feels like…lets chat…

No, I’ve never been a homeowner in all actuality.  I’ve never signed a mortgage paper and I’ve never had that horrible feeling of losing my dream home stripped from me due to financial hardship.  And empathy has never been a strong point in my life; but tonight I know how it feels.

You see, I began building a house about 5 years ago.  This house was different than your other homes.  But in many ways alike.  It had a foundation, laid down so intricately by my father.  He laid down the fundamental building blocks.  Poured his heart and soul into this home and upon my graduating I moved home and became a part of what I was certain would be my future home.  So i also labored, sweat, shed tears and even bled in this process of building a solid home.  About a year and a half ago, the house was taken.

I had thought I moved on.  I watched the house go to new owners who neglected the same care and detail that we had invested into the home.  There was no care.  There was no attention to detail.  There was no building.  It became an empty shell.  And tonight I saw the house my father built, the house which was to be mine come full circle and it broke my heart.  Over 9 years of building all to equate to jack shit.  Literally.

Our home had been a refuge; by God’s grace it had been a safe place for people, usually teenage men to come into and be poured into and loved on.  Now it was a dull empty shell.  No joy, no passion, no excitement.  It was definitely not the house I spent hours upon hours laboring to.  There were some familiar guests in this house.  Some I had personally entertained.  Some who had come into my house and just were able to be and be loved on and be taught and grow and learn and be stretched.  Those same guests acted like they had never set foot in my house before.  I was unfortunately disgusted.  Sick to my stomach actually.

Guests had  previously been able to come into my House and be themselves and enjoy it.  Now it seemed laborious and to be honest, quite lame.  What happened to my House?  What happened to the Foundation?  What happened to the drive and passion?  It’s gone.  It’s sad.  Tonight I wept because I lost my House.  Tonight I weep because the guests in my House are lost and dumbfounded and hurt and confused and disillusioned and frustrated but there is nothing I can do because it is no longer my House.  So to them I apologize.  You once had an incredible Home and now it seems like a shack.

In God’s good grace, however, I promise you this much: I will build another HOUSE one day.  And this house will not be perfect; but it will be real.   And my guests will love it and it will have a foundation and it will stand out.  I will own this house outright one day and no bank or lender will be able to take it.  It will stand for truth and loyalty and fundamentals and community.  It will be a house built upon principles that last much longer than the house itself.  I will build a house one day; if not for me for my Father.

So although I never signed papers nor had to give up my home, i do know what it feels like to pour into something and have it stripped from you.  So tonight, I empathize with all those who have lost their homes.  I too have lost my house.  And it sucks.  Chin up though, for one day we will have another HOUSE and it will truly be ours.