In Praise of Small Houses
In Praise of Small Houses
In an era that equates “bigger” with “better,” I’d like to share a few words in favor of the small house. People have truly fantastical notions about how much room they “need.” We have lone couples living in places that could house a healthy troop of twenty children. The riddle is that the bigger the house, the less likely it is that you will find anyone in it. Probably everyone is away working to pay the hefty mortgage.
When the owners do happen to be inside, the array of rooms seems to swallow everyone up. You can literally be strangers living at the same address. Everyone scatters to separate quarters of the house, each to his own solitary pursuits.
When people speak of small houses, usually one of them will say, “You can’t cramp people or else they’ll get to fighting.” I had to think about that for a while. Instead of learning to work out problems—learning patience, forbearance, love, and selflessness—a dueling pair will choose the easier way: escape. In such a big house, it’s easy to avoid anyone you don’t care to meet. The basic problem of disunity lies unsolved. Obligate the two to sit in close quarters and, in a very short time, they’ll be fighting like cats and dogs. They never learned to “get along” with each other. (The same thing happens when Father and Mother are always carting their children off to separate activities. The siblings never are together long enough to form real relationships that can endure the occasional squabble.)
One woman, grateful for her own small home, expressed it this way: “We love to hear the patter of our little son’s feet. I sometimes think that people have big houses because they want to lose their children in them!”
I’m not saying that a small house is your ticket to familial bliss and togetherness. A small house doesn’t take care of the problems that come from a lack of Biblical living. In fact, it will make your problems more obvious—which is my chief contention. With the family always physically close together, you get to know each other much better. Father and Mother are constantly aware of tensions and can address them better and more quickly. Everyone is familiar with the other—his interests, personality, strengths, weaknesses, problems, joys. Sometimes it’s painful and sometimes it’s a delight, but living together is what a family is all about.
Even the plainest house can be beautiful, and the tiniest home can have a very big heart. Even if your rooms are small, keep the doors open wide! Love and happiness will find plenty of space to grow and flourish.
The little house is not too small
To shelter friends who come to call.
Though low the roof and small its space
It holds the Lord's abounding grace,
And every simple room may be
Endowed with happy memory.
The little house, severely plain,
A wealth of beauty may contain.
Within it those who dwell may find
High faith which makes for peace of mind,
And that sweet understanding which
Can make the poorest cottage rich.
The little house can hold all things
From which the soul's contentment springs.
'Tis not too small for love to grow,
For all the joys that mortals know,
For mirth and song and that delight
Which make the humblest dwelling bright.
Paintings: Garden and Meadow (Normandy, Risle Valley). Dianes Cottage (Beaumont le Roger). Louis Aston Knight.
Text: The poem “The Small Home.” Edgar Albert Guest.
Friday, January 30, 2009