There is something about forts that makes play come alive…both C and I made forts with our respective siblings growing up…blankets were suspended from various pieces of furniture and heavy coffee table books usually served as the blankets’ anchors.
In effort to keep the tradition of fort building strong, B’s Gram made this special fort for him last year for his birthday. The Fort itself fits over our “custom” (my dad made our table for us as a house warming/wedding gift) dinning room table. The fort is complete with a porch swing, windows, a deck box, Ella dag, TCU flag and flowerbox…all representative of our family’s first little house.
Lately, the fort hasn’t made near as many appearances as we would have liked because the house has been on the market. Now that the sale of our little house is pending (MAJOR BLESSING), the fort has come out from hiding in effort to enjoy as much play time as possible. B loves crawling in and out of the fort’s “front” and “back” doors…he giggles as he looks through the windows and loves to point to the TCU flag on the “front porch”.
As we have celebrated the imminent sale of our house, C and I have feverishly searched the area for a three bedroom rental home to house our growing family, as we have decided that we ready to commit to purchasing our next home just yet. We have spent hours in the car and on the internet looking for reasonable rental homes that might suit our growing family of four to a tee.
I will admit, I have shed many tears throughout the process of selling our home and searching for a new home and wondered what in the world the Lord might be trying to teach me throughout the entire process…realizing how bittersweet it will be to leave our first home that we have made so many memories in.
This past Monday, C came home to a very (heavy emphasis on VERY) sad and pitiful wife. I had experienced what I thought to be a completely fruitless and discouraging day of calling property managers, checking on availability of homes, rental rates, locations, square footage, etc. and even walked through a potential home…feeling like I had done it all for nothing. I had convinced myself that we would close on our house and be left with no where to go…or at least that is what I thought.
That night, over dinner, I told C about the concession I was feeling towards my fear and admitted that I was terrified as to where in the world we would find the next roof over our heads.
It was at that moment that I felt a little tug in my heart (BLESSING) to call about a house that we had driven by the weekend before. We had initially turned our noses up to the little house because it was just that…LITTLE! But the more that I thought about it, the house really had everything that we had mentioned needing…just not a bit more. I excused myself from the dinner table and called the man who owned the home.
As the phone rang, I wondered what this owner might think…as I had already called to get information about the house a few days prior. The owner was very polite and patient over the phone as he once again relayed the home’s “stats” to me. At that point, I asked him if we could possible walk through the house sometime during the week. He suggested that we do it that night because of the impending snow storm…I said we would be glad to…hung up and told C we were headed to walk through a house.
We left dinner on the table, grabbed B, the car keys and coats and were out the door. Fifteen minutes later, we were shaking the owner’s hand and walking through the front door. As we walked inside, I honestly felt this blanket of peace come over me…the house was small, but immaculately clean (something that seemed to be an anomaly for rental houses in the area) .
We found a kitchen with all the amenities (nothing more), two bathrooms, one large bedroom (perfect for a nursery and play room for two little ones), a smaller bedroom for C and I, a fenced backyard for Ella and a garage to use for storage. I honestly felt the weight of my worry and fear be lifted off my shoulders as the three of us explored the little house’s quarters (BLESSING).
As our tour came to an end, we thanked the owner for letting us walk through and told him we would let him know if we were interested later in the week. As we drove away, C and I looked at each other and both said “Let’s not wait, let’s call him now.” We called the owner, who was still at the house and told him that we wanted to sign a lease…after hanging up, I realized what a fruitful day we actually had had (BLESSING).
I humbly admit (LESSON) that I went from sheer panic mode to a state of overwhelming peace within about 15 minutes…I had chosen to concede to my fears and let them get the best of me…I hadn’t chosen to believe in God’s faithfulness and provision…but thank goodness that God works despite my fears and plans!
I finally feel like I can breathe a sigh of relief and feel excited about baby A’s impending arrival because I know where we will be bringing her home to…but even more, in this major time of transition, I feel like I have tangible evidence that reminds me of God’s grace, provision and BLESSING…His Word is so true …He doesn’t leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5)!
With that said, I have spent the remainder of the week put up at home (because of the weather)…grateful to have forced time in our first little house…and thinking through what furniture can go where, what photos will get hung on what walls, what needs to get packed long term and what will make the move….etc. etc.
It’s sad to think that we won’t have room for our dinning room table in the rental house…which means B’s special fort (and the table) will have to be packed up for awhile. But it is exciting to think about what memories are to come.
In effort to celebrate this new chapter (and less square footage)…I found this makeshift rocket ship fort for B to play in at our new home. We tried it out so he could become accustomed to it…knowing that so much of his little world is about to be turned upside down.
Consequently, we (B, C, Ella and myself) have spent some good quality time playing in the temporary fort.
Tonight, the fort turned into a little reading nook where C read the infamous “Choo Choo” book aloud while B shed light on the book’s pages with the help of a flashlight.
I can’t help but wonder what God must think as He sees me begin to worry…I wish that I could more easily let go of the control that I desire to have on things and let God really work…I am thankful for His grace and patience with me as I continue to try to learn…and am so grateful for His providing a buyer for our home and providing a home for our family to move to.
I also humbly admit that I was stubborn in regard to what I thought we needed in that I hadn’t been willing to walk through any homes that had less than three bedrooms. I am realizing that there is a definite difference between need and want…and had I have stuck to my stubborn guns I might have missed out on a fantastic little space that will in a sense force our family of four to be close together as we make future memories.
I hope that every time we pull out this little rocket ship fort…I remember the lessons and blessings I was feeling in my heart when we made the transition from one fort to another.
Praise God for providing!
Be blessed.
No comments:
Post a Comment