Location. Location. Location.
As a real estate broker for over 30 years, I often told clients the secret to home buying came down to three words: Location. Location. Location.
After my late husband passed on to glory, I downsized and built a sweet home in a new 55+ community in Tulsa. I picked a premium lot that backed up to a tranquil pond with a little fountain that sang peace over me every morning. It was my real estate instincts at work — selecting the right location.
I lived there four lovely years, soaking in friendships, leading a women’s Life Group, mentoring through ACTS leadership, and savoring precious time with my in-laws. Life was rich. Comfortable. And… settled.
Meanwhile, my kids — my daughter Staci in Frisco, TX and my son Ryan in Austin — were tugging on my heartstrings. “Mom,” Staci once pleaded, “Don’t wait till you’re in your eighties to move closer to us and we’re changing your diapers!” Gotta love a daughter’s honesty.
Then came the surprise. A couple from Canada knocked (figuratively) and asked if I’d consider selling. Their offer? More than generous. Their timing? Impeccable. I prayed, and it was clear — it was time to move.
That old real estate mantra came rushing back, but now it was deeper. In our Wednesday night Women’s Bible Study here in Austin, our leader, Anita McGinnis, echoed it in a spiritual way:
“It’s about location — abiding in the Vine.”
It hit me: no matter where we move on this earth, the real home is being grafted into Jesus — minute by minute. Staying there doesn’t require a zip code. It requires a heart positioned in Him.
Jesus said in John 15:7–8,
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. In this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and prove to be My disciples.”
Friends, wherever you live — in a palace or a pond-facing patio — the safest, most fruitful location is in Him.
So today, check your spiritual address. Are you abiding in the Vine? Stay close. That’s the location that brings peace, provision, and purpose.
And as for those diapers… let’s just say I moved before that chapter. Praise the Lord!