The Visitors

Once upon a time, a lovely Christian family built a house in the country. They raised their children there, three boys and one girl. The house was surrounded by farmland owned by extended family members so the children played constantly with cousins. There were tents in the backyard, forts in the woods, volleyball nets in the front pasture. Alas, the children grew and the parents felt a call to the mission fields of Africa. The house was sold to a new family with young children.

These children wandered the woods; raised chickens, goats, ponies and pigs; swam in the pond; fell into the cold creek and were rescued by the best dog in the world; studied Latin and algebra at the kitchen table. Alas, these children also grew and the house grew quiet again.

One day, the daughter of the first family returned with her four young sons to look at the house of her youth. The second family Mom welcomed them and invited them inside to look around. The girl showed her children her childhood bedroom and the place on the patio where long ago she and her brothers put their child-sized footprints in fresh concrete.

The house sighed with pleasure to see the girl again and to see her beautiful children, so similar in looks to her brothers when they were boys. The second owner sighed happily, too. They all shared the contentment and peace this beautiful, quiet place of God's green earth brings.

The End.