we sold, we bought, we moved and here we are. Truly, we never should have gotten this house, our offer never should have been selected among the many others, our loan never should have been approved, but after a lot of prayer (and I mean a lot, like almost constant) there was a chain of perfectly timed events as this reality unfolded before us and it was clear this was part of God's perfect plan for our family. Every day we are thankful for this opportunity and the future this change lays before us.
We are thankful to have this home where our son and future children can play hide and seek, shoot hoops, make up secret hand shakes, walk to school, hang in the playhouse and bug the other kids in the neighborhood. I can picture all of it, especially the loud and messy family dinners, I just can't wait. Raising our kids in one home without moving is exactly what we always wanted but wrote it off because this seemed impossible.
Internally, I feel such a struggle to present a nice home, nothing over the top but something warm and inviting, like I don't know, a table in the dining room, door handles that don't stick, and doors that are new enough to fit this century weather stripping but I also feel compelled to live biblically when it comes to material possessions. This can mean a lot of different things to people depending on what God has called them to do but for me, as it relates to my home, it means living simply and minimizing purchases of goods. There was just a really great sermon about this at church hitting on exactly what I'm discussing here. Even if you don't believe in God I think this is something to see, we all feel the pressure or the NEED to live in a certain neighborhood, buy this purse, send kids to her school, get those kids on his team, but at what cost? What are you giving up while you chase these "NEEDS". What really is the return on the commitments you make to get yourself or your family the things you "NEED"? I've seen quite a few Pinterest and blog posts stating...
which is often stated in the context of children but I think it's applicable to broader situations. Things which might seem necessary in the moment but in reality these don't bring joy or further a purpose. "Need" is a relative term of course but I really try to be thankful for the roof over our heads, indoor plumbing and other luxuries we seem to forget are not available to the majority of the world.
We all have a thing or two in our home that bothers us and one of my things has always been weather stripping. I have no idea why but I remember my dad replacing it every couple years before winter arrived. Anyhow our house has none, it drives me insane and after consulting a few people our options are get new doors or deal with the lack of insulation and the bugs coming through the gaping holes (ok, I guess maybe they're cracks). That's just one of my many struggles right now while trying to decide what we save, what we spend for ourselves: dinners out, drinks, gifts for friends...and how we support causes close to our heart, while still paying our regular monthly expenses: utilities, mortgage, etc. (which are obviously a top priority from a credit standpoint). Do we save the money? Donate it an organization for people who don't even have a roof over their head? Or bite the bullet and appease our (my) need for first world comforts, justifying it because I need this for my sanity? I mean I really do need to stop chasing down bugs with spray bottles of water, vinegar and tea tree oil and one of the bugs could bite my little baby and what if he ate a spider and my home is hotter/colder and my energy use is not efficient and that means we will be wasting money, and...and...and....
So that's what we are evaluating now and I think this will be an ever shifting list of priorities as Husband and I get older, grow in our careers, have more children, those children get busy, and our friendships grow and change. We should always be in a season of reevaluation and I pray we have the wisdom, foresight, and courage to see when we are being called to make a shift.
How do you handle these types of situations, what is your tipping point for whether you save, spend, or donate? What is one thing you think you could let go of that doesn't have a real purpose in your life?
So that's what we are evaluating now and I think this will be an ever shifting list of priorities as Husband and I get older, grow in our careers, have more children, those children get busy, and our friendships grow and change. We should always be in a season of reevaluation and I pray we have the wisdom, foresight, and courage to see when we are being called to make a shift.
How do you handle these types of situations, what is your tipping point for whether you save, spend, or donate? What is one thing you think you could let go of that doesn't have a real purpose in your life?
