I had to take a break from working and sit down and write a little. Our first week back in "school" was tiring, and now we are in the midst of moving furniture-- switching the guest room for the girls' room, rethinking dressers and toys-- basically making a big mess. But I'm liking the end result, and when I think of why we're putting ourselves through this bit of self-torture, I don't regret it.
When we first moved in, we were as happy as clams. (That's an American saying dating back to 1833. I guess clams are happy because they don't need much. And they look like they're smiling all the time. Anyway...) We had two boys sleeping in the green room, two girls sleeping in the pink room, and a wonderful guest room that I had the immense pleasure of decorating. Then our friends moved into the guest room, we had another baby, and I didn't know what to do. But we made it work, and when our friends moved out earlier this year, I was a happy clam again. I put the baby's little crib in the guest room (easy to wheel out when we had guests) and I had my own room again.
Everything was good.
Then we heard of a young woman in our church who needed a room. She had lost her mother to cancer three years ago, and recently had to admit her father into a nursing home. The young woman had barely begun adulthood, and she was already very alone in the world. She needed to finish school, but she needed a home even more. And so she was referred to us.
My initial response was one of hesitation. Where would the baby sleep? Back in my room? Where would the music equipment and instruments go? In my room too?! When we rented this house three years ago, it was perfect for us. But we never thought that we would have another child, or people living with us. Sometimes I feel cramped, and my children are only getting bigger. I like my home the way it is now, and I don't want that to change, not when I've barely had time to enjoy it.
But then I remember that this home is not my own, not really. With some clever maneuvering, we can use this God-given space to the best of our ability.
And that is why today we are moving the girls' bunkbed into the larger room, making the old guest room into a bedroom for all three girls. The queen-size guest bed is in the pink room, ready for our friend to move in when she is ready. My bedroom is still crazy-looking, and pictures and paintings will need to find new homes on the wall, but all in all, everything looks good.
It will take time to settle in again, and when our friend comes to join our family, she will change the dynamics of our home too. But I know we will be blessed by her. I know that God wants to grow her, and grow me too. Rather than let me settle into my comfy spot and become moss-covered, He keeps me moving, ever onward, ever upward.
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