I don’t want to read into the whole “house that built me” thing too much, but there is something to the thought of physical structure and it’s place in our lives, memory, and person. When I hear this song, I get a little sad at the thought that my own children as of yet do not have a place like this in their memories to think back to as the house where their roots were allowed to grow long and strong. I’m wondering if this next stop for us might be the last one.
Will Oklahoma be for them, as it has been for me, the place in their memories that they call home?
Half-Pint House 
for some of us, the roots may not be in a place, but a group of people (our family). i’m sure your children also have some great friends from st. louis as well. they are old enough to remember a lot about st. louis. with fb or whatever medium you consider to be appropriate, they will be able to keep up w friends a lot easier than those of us who moved a lot were able to. btw, i was in your new stomping grounds this past w/e:) we were visiting some family and attending presbytery…sponsored by RUF. i met some neat people up there. who knows, someday i might even get to see you there:)
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I have really struggled with this and it killed me when we went back to Gallatin about 3 months after we had moved to West Plains and I realized that Truett had secretly kept a key to the parsonage and sneaked in and walked around (it was unoccupied!!) because he was so sentimental about the place. Spencer really struggled as well when his childhood home burned down and he no longer had the physical structure to go back to and walk around in.
But now my kids love it here and both of my older kids have said that home is “wherever you and dad are.”
The truth is, my kids love looking at old photos and videos and reminiscing about ALL of our homes (which as you know– have been many.) Not everyone has the same life story. Not everyone has a homestead or whatever– but God puts all of the stories together and it’s all good.
I have always loved this song too… but your kids are going to fine. Not just fine. They’re going to be great.
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I really think the family unit is the most important piece but for sentimental types, the house can hold much significance. My husband and I both moved a lot when we were kids and it is our desire for our kids to have the home of their childhood to come back to that has brought us to the recent decision not to move and build or buy a “better” house, as was our plan. So much peace has come with this decision. I don’t say any of that to make you feel badly, because your loving, stable family unit is SO much more important, but roots do matter and for all of you, I hope this next move is the one that moves you all home.
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