And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land where you are now…

Genesis 17:8

We have been living in our house since 2014. Whenever I catch myself thinking about our place, it’s usually focused on what it is lacking. It would be nice to have a bigger kitchen. It would be nice to have an actual guest room. Or we really need to finish that backyard patio project. Or we should invest in nice living room furniture. And on and on it goes.

As I was doing some deep spring cleaning, I caught myself in this familiar train of thought and changed its direction. There is a piece of land in Fort Worth, TX that is ours. There is a house on this land where we get to live and make so many memories. There is a safe place where I come home every day. There is a little raised garden bed where I have failed to grow a single tomato for the last 3 years, so I am trying strawberries this time. In my kitchen, there is no recipe that I feel intimidated by. And on and on I go until I reached that deep feeling of thankfulness to God.

The promise of the land was in the foundation of God’s covenant with Abraham. It was a tangible blessing that stood as a symbol of God’s grace and love for generations. God initiated the covenant and gave the promise to Abraham because God chose to walk alongside us through our life journeys, to love us through our good times and hard times. God wants us to live in the realness of His grace, to feel safe and secure in his embrace. This need for safety, stability, and security has been woven somewhere deep into our DNA. Our homes are meant to meet that basic need. The reality of our lives of course is so different from God’s design because of the brokenness of our world. But nothing can separate us from the safety and stability of God’s grace, because it is God’s promise to us.

God bless,

Rev. Zhenya Gurina-Rodriguez, PhD
Associate Pastor of Grace Groups & Discipleship