Sometimes, it’s the seemingly small, insignificant items in our homes that signify hard-earned, profound truths.
So it is with my water filter. My NEW water filter as of 3 weeks ago. The fact it is set up in my home speaks volumes to the healing that has happened in my life.
Several years ago, a water filter was high on my list of purchases. I was living in GA on my farm. I didn’t have a lot of counter space in my kitchen so the thought of a permanent fixture taking up precious surface space gave me “pause before purchase.” Not only was the counter space a factor but also the cost. I had a bajillion mouths to feed on my homestead and I wasn’t sure the cost could yet be justified. So I waited.
After my husband walked out the door the end of 2018, life was very unsettled. The consideration of a water filter would flit across my mind every now and then. I was on tenterhooks all of 2019 waiting to see where my future was headed. A major purchase of a water filter was not a wise decision in the “not knowing.”
In April of 2020, I sold/gave away most everything in our home. I sold the farm and headed to MT. I lived in a 200 sq ft log cabin, super cozy, but with less counter space than I’d had at the farmhouse! Many times, the purchase of a water filter and stand crept into my thoughts. I could afford it now. But was the timing right? I lived nowhere permanent for 12 months at a time. After the first 18 months full time in MT, I became a seasonal worker. Eight months in Montana, four months in PA. Seemed a waste to purchase an item I wasn’t able to use all year long.
This year of 2024, living out of my car, I had actually considered buying a smaller capacity water filter to somehow carry with me over the miles while traveling across the country. I configured and gave it much thought and in the end, the room just wasn’t available for a water filter like the one I wanted.
After arriving home a few weeks ago, guess what was high on my purchase list?! A cylindrical, shiny metal water filter on a stand. It’s not just the purified water that holds so much significance. My water filter represents a “home”. For the first time in 5 years, I am fully home. All my belongings are under one roof. There are no other dwellings in this next year where I will spend more time than here.
Oh sure, there are more adventures and travel on the horizon but home is now in one place. And it feels so good!
So yes, every time I fill my glass with water from the spigot, I offer a smile of gratitude. A whisper of thanksgiving for the journey of healing, the ups and downs, the insecurity and not knowing, the courage to be brave and get out of my comfort zone over and over again.
I now have a beautiful water filter …and I am home.
