The Light is Different Here

As I mentioned last week, we have moved from the Swedish Farmhouse to our new home, let's call it, 'Mountaintop' because that perfectly describes its geographic location.
Our former home rested serenly in a valley and overlooked two acres of beautiful pasture where we were graced by the appearance of deer and elk and a stunning variety of birds that came to feast on the sunflower seeds that I put out for them each morning.

Our current home is perched on the side of a mountain and overlooks the sky and the mountains that abound in every direction. To look out the window at any point during the day is to observe an ever changing painting as the clouds move across the sky and with them, the colors that tell us the time of day and an outlook on the weather.

These two houses could not be more different in appearance and yes, ambience. Our former house was built in 1949 and was dark and cozy and close to the ground. This house is just barely 15 years old, is light and airy, and sits among the clouds. Which got me thinking about how a place 'feels' and how it can affect our perspective.

What makes a place feel like 'home'? Over the past month I've looked at more than a dozen homes, each beautiful and with something to offer the right person.  This is the only house, of the many I visited, that spoke to me as soon as I walked in the front door.

Since moving to this mountaintop home, I feel lighter. I've actually had two friends remark that I sound 'happier' when we've spoken on the phone. I've wondered if it's because the house is filled with light due the large windows, if it's because we literally face the sky, or because I feel settled now, in Evergreen.

I don't know the answer, but with renewed vigor I'm tackling the job hunt and looking forward to ultimately making a home somewhere in this community. This particular home may or may not be my permanent home (it is after all just a rental, not the least of which is the axiom that is a constant in my life: 'we make plans, God laughs') but it has already given me the gift of optimism and an ever changing landscape of beauty to enjoy. It has confirmed that I am ready to settle down and stop moving from place to place. I am ready to create a home.

Whether it is ultimately this home or another, I have learned that at least for me, place does matter, and that I can find a place that feels just right.

Today's question is: how does 'place' affect your perspective?