Settling In

In the 1992 movie The House Sitter, Goldie Hawn played a con-artist who moved into Steve Martin’s dream house while he was away. The “romantic comedy” got so-so reviews and was best appreciated by hard core fans of Hawn and Martin. Needless to say, it was not a favorite for Best Motion Picture on Oscar night.

I doubt Beverly Mitchell ever dreamed that Hollywood scenario would unfold in her real life. What actually happened to her is so bizarre the comedic genius of Martin or Hawn are not needed to make you laugh.

Mitchell who lives in a ranch home in Douglasville, Georgia, just outside of Atlanta recently enjoyed a two week vacation to Greece. She returned home to find a strange vehicle in the driveway and all the lights on in her house. Rather than entering her own home, she wisely contacted police. When the officers arrived they found a woman inside the home who first claimed she was renting the place but later admitted she was squatting in the home she broke into with a shovel.

Talk about bizarre! Mitchell’s clothes, furniture, even her dishes were gone. The electricity had been transferred into the squatter’s name. The house had been redecorated — new carpet lined the floors, new portraits hung on the walls, and new appliances appeared in the kitchen. The squatter’s dog defended Mitchell’s home as if it were her master’s.

Today the squatter is in jail, charged with burglary. Beverly Mitchell is at a loss to explain it all. What words would you chose to describe this story? Bizarre? Crazy? Unthinkable?

Before we get carried away, we may do well to consider our own living arrangements.

How many of us have settled in and gotten comfortable?

“All these faithful ones died without receiving what God had promised them, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed the promises of God. They agreed that they were no more than foreigners and nomads here on earth. And obviously people who talk like that are looking forward to a country they can call their own. If they had meant the country they came from, they would have found a way to go back. But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a heavenly city for them” Hebrews 11:13-16 NLT.

We sing, “This world is not my home, I’m just passing through.” But be honest — is there anything about our lives that would make anybody think we were transients just passing through a temporary land on our way to our real home?

 Have you settled in?

— Bob Clark

10/26/2004