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Saturday, December 4, 2010

A Moveable Mess, or, In the Meantime......

Nine years ago my hubbie and I downsized to a tidy little two bedroom bungalow. The kids had grown and gone, so we thought it was time to find something smaller with less upkeep. It was a good idea, but we now find ourselves a bit cramped.

Our former house had a finished attic which hubbie used as his art studio. There were three bedrooms and a bathroom on the second floor, then kitchen, living room, den, family room and bathroom on the main floor. The basement was unfinished, but great for hiding "stuff" and doing laundry. There was also a single car garage which we usually kept full of more "stuff".

Now we have kitchen, living room, dining room, two small bedrooms, bathroom and a family room addition which hubbie has marked as "his territory". (I get to sit in there sometimes; it is the best room in the house, lots of natural light). The basement is unfinished, and there is also a garage. One of the bedrooms has a bunk bed (double bed on the bottom, single on the top) which is great for when grandkids sleep over. The room is about ten by ten, which doesn't leave much space left over. It is the room that I keep trying to make "mine" where I can sew, write, read, make jewellry, and fill with all my own personal "stuff", like books and yarn and fabric etc. etc. Although the picture above isn't of my room, it does bear a striking resemblance.

I keep trying to find that space where I can roost, with all my stuff around me, and create, or just be. It hasn't happened. My home is dotted with piles of books, papers, fabric, yarn, cd's and tapes. Whenever I have company, the dining room table gets cleared off and my piles get relocated into the spare room. I call it my "moveable mess".

Today, I am having another go at the spare room. Hubbie is going to move the filing cabinet there from the basement, and once again, I will try to get myself organized. I might even set my sewing machine up on the little desk in there. I'll have to deal with a couple of bins full of papers etc. first. There is also a computer in there, and I hope to purchase a new printer to go along with it.

Hubbie has promised to make me a room in the basement. But I don't know when this might actually occur, so in the meantime, I'm doing the best I can with what I have. My new little room will be (God willing) bright and warm and cozy, and will have shelves and a work table and I will be able to leave things set up there. We have also tossed around the idea of finishing our little attic, and have spent many hours on the Internet MLS site, looking for our perfect house in the country. But all must be in God's timing.

It's like that for us believers, I think. As "aliens" here on earth, we have to "make do" with the fallen world we live in, and the fallen selves that we are. Our made alive spirits yearn for that perfect place, and that perfect, sin free self that is promised at our final glorification. In the meantime, we endure temptation, frustration, and a heavenly homesickness that cannot be described, only experienced. We so look forward to the day when we will finally be "home", forever with our Lord, and living that perfect, eternal life that we were created for.

For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. (Romans 8:22,23)

13 comments:

Kat said...

Oh so true!!! how i groan for a big space to create and a room just for homeschooling! Keep us updated on the progress of getting a just-for-you space carved out :)! I'll say a prayer for you...these things always keep me up at night...how to arrange things when you don't have the exact situation you would like. It was fun getting a peak into your life, Maureen! Keep us updated :)

At Heart Level said...

Well, Maureen, I can certainly relate. What I wouldn't give for a large dumpster in the driveway and spousal permission to have at it! I could surely find some space! A speaker I heard once said that the last time she moved, she had 56 boxes labelled, "STUFF." Isn't that the way. Just so much stuff!
Bless you in your rearranging!
Michele

Anonymous said...

"a family room addition which hubbie has marked as "his territory".
Maureen....here is my suggestion even though you didn't ask. In order to expedite your "new" room...just simply man-up and "claim" the family room as "yours". Hubby will have the new room done in no time. OR...if you follow my instructions....your "new" room might be a dog house. Did I miss your point of this post? I'll be back.

Maureen said...

Hi Kat! I don't think we could ever find the "perfect" house; we would always find something about it that wasn't quite right. That is, until we reach our "final" destination.....it will be true perfection.

Maureen said...

I hear you Michele. Most likely, the bigger the house, the more stuff we can collect! Maybe I just better stay here in this little nest.

Maureen said...

Anon, I hope I didn't sound like I was complaining. I wasn't, really. Hubbie needs his "art space", and I guess I figured I could work around whatever I needed to. Maybe I'm just at an age where I need everything to be handy? It's getting to be too much work to haul everything out, then put it all back. I really think I could just live in one big room, if it weren't for having "company" over. Seems they like having a table to eat their meals at, and places to sit and relax. Guess I'll just have to live in the real world for a while longer :o)

Anonymous said...

Maureen...you didn't sound like you were complaining. I was just messing with you. As far as "living" in this world:

This life we live is not life. This life is a living death. This whole world is ruins brilliantly disguised as elegance. Christ alone is life. Christ has come, bringing his life into the wreckage called us. He has opened up, even in these ruins, the frontier of a new world where grace reigns. He is not on a mission to help us improve our lives here. He is on a mission to create a new universe, where grace reigns in life. He is that massive, that majestic, that decisive, that critical and towering and triumphant.

We don’t “apply this to our lives.” It’s too big for that. But we worship him. And we boast in the hope of living forever with him in his new death-free world of grace. Instead of a room, you just might have a mansion right next to me and Carol.

Suppresst said...

Maureen this post is wisdom and well conveyed. I think the world bears down on us hard with slick marketing campaigns, etc. that do a darn good job of convincing us how life "ought to be" according to "their" standards. Recall that Jesus counseled against chasing after things as we the gentiles are prone to do. I think that especially film does a number on us. We cozy up to watch a seemingly harmless movie and unawares we are brainwashed, even in "harmless" movies, about lifestyles, etc - our favorite actress portrayed as living an effortless life in a seaside villa with servants and a chef, etc.

Maureen said...

Anon, loved your comment. But I do believe there is value in this life, because we can bring glory to God through it. We can proclaim Him, and enjoy Him. I love this quote from John Piper:

"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him."

It is only Christ that brings true contentment, and the "more" I am content with "less", the happier I am. That's why I want to de-clutter, and likely why He hasn't allowed me to simply move to a bigger house, taking all my "stuff" and mess with me. He wants me to pare down, appreciate what I already have, and find my contentment in Him first and always.

Maureen said...

Suppresst, you are right. Television/movies give mostly a warped view and encourage a materialistic, godless mindset. All the "makeover" (home, fashion, relationship, financial) shows that keep springing up are a big part of that. Lately I am more led to make do with what I have. This would mean use up all my yarn, fabric, food in freezer, read books I have, before I purchase more. Consumerism is very contagious; even at work there are too many opportunities to spend ,spend, spend.

Nicole said...

I think downsizing is good because it really allows us to see how truly blessed we are!

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