Thank You C.S. Lewis

Imagine yourself a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps you can understand what he is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and you are not surprised.

But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seems to make sense.

What on earth is He up to?

The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of: throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage; but He is building a palace.
                                                                                           --C.S. Lewis, from Mere Christianity

Mormons believe that our time on earth is a testing ground for our reward in Heaven. It's pretty straight forward; when you face a trial in life, your righteous response to that trial purifies you and gets you ready to take on the responsibilities and rewards you will have in Heaven.

Andy and I have that habit of going to the St. George home show and we spend a couple of hours sinking into a depression of coveteousness that makes going to work (teaching other people's kids) sheer torture. Who owns those homes? Not teachers that's for sure. But a girl can dream covet.

Thank you C.S. Lewis. I've stopped saying "when we get rich I want a house with a pool, a movie room and a craft room" because I imagine God saying "She's asking for it!" and the next day we have another miscarriage or drive off a cliff, but our mansion in heaven will be fit for the St. George home show.

I love my little townhome. I love my little townhome....I love my....

I'm not a big believer that God reaches out and puts these trials in our path. I believe that he would like to reach in and stop the consequences of our choices, or other people's choices that may adversely affect us, but that's not part of the plan either. CRAP HAPPENS.

The point is: coveting something usually comes back in karma right in our faces. We do not know what's ahead. We stay grateful for what we have and especially for each other. We take our challenges one at a time and we swim in the neighbor's pool.