The Pain and Pleasure of Ikea

The closer we get to being fully supported (84% as of this morning…hopefully we’ll have updated numbers later today), the more Derek and I like to dream about something we have never experienced in all our 4.5 years of marriage: decorating our very own house (well, rented house). Ironically, we have to become missionaries and go to Zambia Africa to get our own house, but that tracks with how God has worked in our lives.

Anyways, we have discovered, to our delight, that Ikea offers some nice-looking products at a nice-looking price in a nicely-compacted package, which makes it ideal for bringing to Zambia. So, I have found myself browsing Ikea’s website and making a list of items we can bring to make our home “homey.”

The funny thing is, the more I look the more I dream about preparing our house in Zambia to our satisfaction. What colors? What shade of yellow? Can we get rugs there? What kind of stain for the furniture? What style of dining room table?

Jesus left to go and prepare a place for us…2,000 years ago. Heaven must really have all the perfect elements for a home – warm yet bright, cozy yet spacious… But even though Jesus could have talked about all his plans for how he was going to prepare heaven, he said, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:3)

Heaven is going to awesome…because we will be with Jesus. And isn’t that how it is here – we can have the most perfect home, but the spirit of the home makes it feel either warm or cold?

I’ll be the first to admit that I can’t wait to start nesting in Zambia. But my main concern should be about making our home the place where people see Christ more clearly and want him more.

Ikea won’t satisfy me or my husband or our guests in Zambia. Christ will. So the trick is determining how to use Ikea for Christ-honoring purposes. Pray for us that we will be satisfied by the reality of Jesus during these final days of support-raising, and not the dreams of how Ikea will make us happy in Zambia.