Psalm 121, verse 8 was the first of the scripture readings, done at my front door, during the house blessing that took place on Saturday afternoon, October 16th. The service took us to each of the rooms of the house (some more than once!) and marked the activity performed there with a Bible verse or two and a short prayer, followed by all guests singing the Taize chant "Ubi caritas". The procession through the house took us from "where visitors are welcomed" to "where pets sleep" and many places in between -- including the bathroom!
The service was lovely and gave me an extra special feeling about the house, which has been our home for about six months. Both daughters came from college so they could participate in the service. Though neither one really knew what to expect (I don't think most of those present did!), both daughters told me afterwards that it was more meaningful than they'd thought it would be.
Perhaps the best part of the weekend, though, was when I said something about "our new house" and my daughter replied that it didn't feel like a "new" house, just like "our" house. I am truly blessed in many ways.
When we moved to our current house, my husband off-handedly said to our pastor that he should come over and bless the house. Who knew that there is an actual Lutheran ceremony for house blessings? It was a wonderful experience even though it was lost on our children who were 6, 3 and 1 at the time. Congratulations to you--it seems you are well on your way to making your house a home.
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