The bedrooms: the master is full of furniture gifted to us the
day before our wedding. It was such a blessing. The closets are full of clothes
and shoes that hardly get worn and a music stash evident of a true audiophile.The walls are bare.
Our Living Room: with the twin set olive green recliners his
parents gave us, the off-white loveseat my mom offered to us, and the pink
lamp stand I had in grad-school, and the TV extending around the bend to face
us during meal time. There’s nothing else in there.
The dining room: with built-in shelves, a
painting of The Last Supper that needs to be hung, our first dining room
set, and a door that leads to the back deck. There’s nothing else.
Our kitchen: tiny and cozy as can be. The space is narrow.
The shelves, though few, are all occupied with small electrical appliances. But,
the cupboards are packed, the fridge is full, and we have enough.
This, is our first home. We’ve been looking for the perfect
one since 2010. Gave up for a little while and finally found it when
the time was right.
There are some spaces that need filling, but it will come.
The means to have all that we desire will
come. I often plan in my mind what kinds of painting and pictures we will
have strewn across the walls of our house; or the kind of sofa we’ll have in
our living room, along with shelves, mirrors, rugs and accent pillows too! I often wonder if we will
ever hang the painting of Jesus and His disciples, or find a more visually
appealing location for our television. But for now, everything is where it
needs to be. Over time we will begin to see the empty spaces filling up and the
decoration desires of our heart will be met.
This observation about our home helps me to put things into
perspective. Since I moved in, I’ve been thinking of all the
things we can do with the living room: once we get rid of the recliners, olive
green curtain panels, and pink lampstand. Maybe a neutral colored sofa, with
pops of red or yellow... paint that lamp post some metallic color... get a pretty area rug... And not to mention finding some way to build these
awesome honeycomb shelves I’ve seen floating around the internet.
I’ve been focused on what I hope to acquire (what I want) and not on what I
have now. This is my biggest flaw. I often say here that I am learning or have
learned lessons from certain situations in my life and this is no different. I
grew up living with excess of all things materialistic. The empty spaces in our
home were filled with more shoes. more clothes. more handbags. More. More.
More. My mother supported me financially every week right up until my final
year of graduate school. If I had a job, it was because I wanted more and not
because I was required to have one. I had not yet learned what it was like to
be in want. I honestly believe that this is the lesson I am currently being
schooled in. Instead of filling up the empty spaces with more things, I needed
to fill it up with more of God.
This past year, I have found myself doing just that. I
purchased my first study Bible in July 2012 and that has been the best purchase I have ever made in life… way better than 100 pretty dresses. I spent more time
in prayer, reading the Bible and understanding the words written on the pages.
Doing this has brought so many blessings-- more than money can buy. It has
given me more faith, joy, peace, comfort and contentment… And even more so,
eternal life through Christ. This is what my spiritual empty space is being filled with.
As for our home, that is another lesson in and of itself. I
am learning to be content with what we have now. When our increase comes and we have all that we want, we can look back and see where we've come from
and appreciate it even more.
"Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth."
~Colossians 3:2~
"...while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."
~2 Corinthians 4:18~
