A Cramped Nest is Best

After Gabe and I were married for one year we decided to buy our first house. We knew from the get go that God willing when we started a family we would live on one income. So with that in mind we began the search for a suitable home that we could afford even when my income was cut.

We finally chose our Kline Circle house as our "starter" home thinking we would live here for about 5 years and then move. It was an older home, but in an established neighborhood with mature trees. A trade off we were willing to make because brand new neighborhoods in our price range are generally wiped clean of all trees. Very depressing.

The floor plan and the "bones" of the house were great, but it needed some work. I'm talking it had 80's wallpaper in the bathrooms and horrific stained and dirty white berber carpet. Who in their right mind would install white carpet?  Many of the fixtures were outdated and the entire interior needed to be repainted.. You get the picture. It needed some TLC.

The transformation of our home didn't happen over night. It has taken 10 years to get a lot of the projects done. We lived with that nasty flooring for 7 years before we finally replaced it. Amazing how giving a home new floors make it feel brand new. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears have gone into this home.

After the first two of our children arrived I started feeling cramped. And not only that, I was feeling very discontent with this house as well. It was small, we needed more space. It was old, it always needed updating and work done. Basically I was grumbling over something that God had provided for our family. I got caught up in the "when is it our turn?" mentality. I watched as our friends and family "moved up" so to speak and we stayed put. My heart was in the wrong place for sure.

Little by little I opened up to the changes God was making in my heart. My eyes were opened to this home in a whole new way. I saw it not for it's flaws but as a great and abundant provision from God. The once small spaces that drove me crazy began to seem like a fun challenge instead. The never ending projects became a blank canvas to express my personality. My once discontent heart was now overflowing with thankfulness for this home.

The several times we have attempted to move have only proven to me even more how much I love my home. I am deeply attached. All of my babies (and the one on the way) will have been brought home to this house. All of our holiday celebrations have been spent together here. There are so many wonderful memories wrapped up in this home. The thought of leaving it now makes me sad.

So with the addition of our 4th child next fall, we will be living in this 1500 sqft house as a family of 6 and I couldn't be more happy! I will once again clean out closets and find creative storage solutions. And best of all I will be happy and content to do it. I recently saw a sign that said "A cramped nest is best" I couldn't agree more!

With our recent decision to stay put and make do (not put our house on the market and move) I received this message from a friend.

Your post touched me, Cheryl. We were just talking (literally) about the houses that our friends have around here, and how they are so big and so beautiful and so extravagant. It is hard to be around that and not start to wonder why we haven't been as "blessed". I think that your post is a stark contradiction to what people are constantly striving for- more and bigger... I love what you wrote, because it honors your husband and his provision for your family, it honors God because you are grateful and pleased with what He has given you, and it shows you to be a wise and wonderful woman. Your husband is blessed and your children are blessed with you. Thank you for the sweet reminder that God always gives us what we need and not what we always want. xoxo

This note was very encouraging and confirmed that to live within the means that God has given is to honor Him. And that, my friends, is far more important than the address, the lot size, the amenities, or the square footage.