I want to tell you the story of a house hunting experience. A mum and dad and their four year old daughter and three year old son went house hunting on the weekend. Living in a two bedroom unit with their two children has been cosy and fun but both parents felt it was time to have a backyard and perhaps more bedrooms. Mum grew up in the country with large backyards and shared bedrooms with sisters. Dad grew up in an inner city suburb with very little backyard but a bedroom for each child. Fortunately Dad's street was a cul de sac and so with a sense of community he played with the kids in the street. Mum's early life was spent creating adventures and 'make believe' in the large tree filled backyard.

The search for a house became focussed mainly on the need for some enclosed backyard and maybe at least one more bedroom.

I offered to mind the children as twelve houses were on the list to visit. Mum and dad decided to give it a go with the children in tow. The children's brief was to check out the backyard for tree-house building potential and bike riding capability. They both took this responsibility very seriously.

The report at the end of the day was that the children were fantastic. Dad commented "I think they just enjoyed spending the whole day with both of us." In a society where family members often spend weekends apart doing individual activities, a whole day with both mum and dad was a treat. I asked if they had stopped for lunch and was amazed that 'take away' consumed in the car between house visits was the order of the day. After the last house visit they did enjoy some playtime in a nearby park.

I am sure these children will have wonderful happy memories of house hunting with mum and dad. So far the family have done this for two weekends in a row, so it's still early days. Giving the children a little job as part of the project was a clever move, I think. The parents continue to pray for the right house to become available. They have discussed their differing expectations of houses and family life and managed to include the children in the exciting adventure of finding somewhere for the family to live.

Opportunities like this can be used positively to strengthen family relationships and to teach children about doing the hard work of life by getting out there and investigating the possibilities and, at the same time, trusting in a loving Father who will provide for all our needs.