The tossing, purging, donating is such an amazing feeling!
Maybe I'm just a crazy clean-loving chick, but it just feels good to rid our home of unwanted things that are taking up mind
space and literal space. From every bathroom cabinet filled and easily 20
towels between the three bathroms down to 7 towels and 5 washrags now: Love it.
From a closet full of linens to one small basket: Love it. From an armoire full of
extra blankets to 4 extras. Love it. From a garage full of party and décor totes
down to 5. Love it. From the 15 totes of
Christmas décor down to 6: love it. I love the outcome of our more simple
life. We have found that we don’t miss a
thing that has moved on and we have everything we need. Perhaps even greater
than the love of having less has been the process to get there. I’m not talking
of the physical process, but the heart work that has taken place in each of us
through this. With every season of change comes an opportunity to grow. I love
the work He’s done in our hearts. It’s the real change. The change that pushes
us closer to Him. These are a few things
we’ve learned along the way. These are the parts of this whole process that
make us thankful. Grateful to be walking this road.You can find the first part of this journey here.
1. Strengthened the faith of our Kids
Sometimes
when we are walking through life and we encounter a pothole, it’s easier and
safer to not involve the kids. What if it doesn’t turn out like we are praying?
What if it damages their faith? What if they don’t trust God if He doesn’t pull
through. These are the tough things as a parent. We want to grow and help to
deepen their relationship with the Lord but sometimes we don’t want to take a
risk. Playing it safe is….well….safer.
I was 38
weeks pregnant. The pregnant waddle was
in full swing. I felt good overall…just tired. Physically tired. Emotionally
tired. The past 3 months had been a whirlwind.
Remodeled some parts of the house, packed, staged, purged, purged, PURGED, garage
sale, scheduling, listing house, selling house….all in 2 months time. Momma was
tired. Our house sold in 2 days. That’s a great thing….as long as you have a
place to GO! We were waiting, praying, asking, searching, calling….surely God
had a place for us! We were out of options. We had 1 week to find a place and
in this hot market, that was nothing short of a miraculous feat! Rentals were
on and off the market in a day. If all else failed, apartment life or extended
stay suite would soon be ours. Sigh. I was fresh out of hope. I stood there in
our kitchen wondering, “Where the heck are we gonna go?” Homeless with a
newborn isn’t exactly what I had in mind. Surely God knew I was about to pop,
right?! I could feel the tears welling
up. I felt a whisper…”pray with the boys.” We’ve prayed 100 times about this.
They knew we were looking for a new house, but they didn’t know it was down to
the wire….and we really needed a miracle. I was hesitant at first. I knew we
needed God to open a door but what if He didn’t….what if they were disappointed
God didn’t hear their prayers? Then it hit me. But what if He DID?! What if he
DID answer their prayers? What if he DID open a door? For our kids to
experience first hand testimonies of God’s goodness, and his miracles in our
lives, sometimes we have to move from playing it safe. Sometimes we have to be
real with them on what we are contending for and let them join the battle with
us. Their prayers matter….their prayers
move the hand of God! I called the boys down. “Boys, this is the deal. We are
going to pray for our new house. We need a house in the next 5 days and we have
zero options. We need a miracle. We are going to each pray and we are going to
believe God has a plan.” We prayed. My oldest got his guitar and started
singing. That boy. The sounds that come from his guitar are prophetic. He can unknowingly
sense something in the spirit and I know he plays what’s on God’s heart. This
was nothing short of that. He chose to sing Faithful God and Never Once. We worshipped. Thirty minutes later we got a
call from my hubby saying a realtor called him and we had first dibs on a house
in the neighborhood we wanted. 30 minutes folks. I think God was wanting me to
get to the end of my rope so I could trust him fully. No man could take credit
for this. It was all Him. That day goes down in the books as a day our boys
will forever remember as the day that God answered their prayers. A day that
God gave us a miracle. A day that strengthened their faith. When our kids are
grown and out of our house, I hope they have many stories that begin with, “Do
you remember when God….” Nothing blesses
this Momma’s heart more than when God gives a testimony to my kids. They own
that testimony now…they were apart of it! It took risk but the reward was
great.
2. Contentment
We see our
“stuff” as just that…stuff. I want this, I need this…those thoughts are fewer.
We find ourselves more content. We don’t always thing in terms of “needing” bigger, better, newer. Our desires have become different.
I find myself asking, “Do I need this? Do I have a place for this? Is it my
favorite?” If the answer is No, it happily stays on the shelf. We are human and
not perfect. We aren’t walking around in 10-year-old clothes and surviving on
$100/month on groceries. I’m not talking extremes here. However, our overall perspective is shifted. Thoughts
of “stuff” occupy far less brain space. We are just simply more content.
This would
probably not be the most ‘popular’ thing we have done. “Are you sad to not have
your big kitchen?” No. I’m glad to have a smaller one to clean! “Are the boys sad
about not having a playroom? They don’t have very much room now.” If we have
trained our boys to be “content” or “happy” only when they have lots of space
and lots of “things” then I have done them a huge disservice as their parent.
Kids NEED less than we give them. I believe their appetite for things starts
with us. Several hundred dollar devices are the norm for birthdays for
Christmas. When I was a kid, I got a caboodle and some Lip Smackers! Are we
feeding our kids a culture of more, more, more when what they really need is
quality time and family? Perhaps, yes. “This house doesn’t have this, it
doesn’t have that.” I’m fully aware. Thanks for the concern. The truth is,
these walls aren’t what make our family function. These walls aren’t what make
our home. Our home is the people inside and the memories we make. We can easily
transition to a new residence because we have new memories to make and we are
doing it together. Yes, we were sad to leave our other house, but it was the
memories that we left that were sad. It
had nothing to do with the structure itself. Houses will come and go. Our home
will always be where we are. We create HOME. So while our choices may not be
popular to some, the peace in the obedience of doing what God is asking of us
is far greater. You realize, being popular is really over rated anyways.
4. Trust His Whisper
Over a year
before all of this, I would randomly feel the need to prepare for something. I
didn’t know what, but every time I felt the nudge, I would go through
something. I told my hubby “I just feel a change coming and it feels like a
move.” I’m sure at first he thought it
was the newly pregnant hormones talking. A few months later he felt the same.
It wasn’t a loud “thus says the Lord.” It wasn’t a direct prophetic word, “you
will sell your house next year.” It was a whisper, and we knew it was Him. It was a simple, "Trust me in this." He was in the smallest of details. He confirmed things when we doubted.
His whisper guided us. It built our trust. It built our faith. His whisper is a priceless gift.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.-John 10:27
These are just a few of the things we've realized through this process. There are many more to come, I'm sure. We are a work in progress and enjoying the journey. We are, simply thankful.
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