If dreams are any indication of what is occupying your
subconscious, it wasn’t boding well for the situation my husband and I just gotten ourselves into. Zombies were chasing someone right up to my house—(the one we
just bought in in real life.) I wasn’t particularly afraid of them but was holding
the door open, hoping the person would make it in time.
Unfortunately I will never know because the scene switched
to the basement of the dream place where we discovered a room that had been a
gift shop. It was still full of stuff but someone told me that underneath the
place were wind tunnels whose constant screeching drove people crazy. And I
still wasn’t worried (?!)
Now the setup for this dream isn’t that far-fetched because
the person whose real-time property we bought had just walked away. Family was
concerned and came to get him. Left his beer can on the end table, bills piled
high. Rusty Coleman stove on the kitchen counter and pictures on the wall. Said
he didn’t want a thing.
When my realtor friend and I first walked through the place,
we didn’t even have a flashlight (fine prepared prepper I am). The place was
kind of creepy, but we had known we were going to tear it down. Still, when I
got to the dark bedroom, I froze. The bedding had a big lump in it.
No one did but we got out fast anyway.
The decision to buy this place confirms an underlying
dynamic between my husband and me. We can’t resist a mess, an adventure with a
hoped for, but uncertain end. When we moved south eight years ago we said we
were finished fixing up houses. Yes. We were going to buy a solid brick ranch,
put the couch against the wall, the pots in the kitchen cupboard, clothes in
the closet and move on with other things in life.
Many of you know how that turned out. How I was dazzled by a
swimming pool and bought and hundred-year-old house with yellow duct tape
holding up the doorsills. It took us a while (and tens of thousands of dollars)
to recover from that decision. Never again a fixer-upper we said.
Well, that part is true. This place isn’t a fixer-upper.
It’s so bad we have to tear it down before we can even build it up! But I’m pretty sure this is the last one we buy, because we are at the point in life the Bible
refers to as being “full of days,” and about out of energy to fix houses.
As it turns out one of my writing partners is an architect,
so she is drawing up my plans. I sketched out the living areas and traffic flow
I wanted and she is putting order to it. It’s good to know someone who can
harness your nebulous ideas. I think every dive-in-and-doer
should have a planner. So let’s see how this will all turn out. I’ll keep you
posted as we pack up another person’s life to make way for our own.
Meanwhile, most of the words and blessings I’ve both
received from others and meditated on myself this new year have concerned
delighting in God’s favor and perceiving his pleasure. So in spite of what
things look like at the moment, I’m thinking on Paul’s words as the ship was going
down—So take heart men, for I have faith
in God it will be exactly as I have told. But first we must run aground …
In the joy of the Lord,
Marcia
What an adventure. I get it, sister. I get it.
ReplyDeleteMarcia:
ReplyDeleteYou guys are definitely courageous, adventurous, and filled with faith.
I can't wait to see this lump-laden place turn into your dream home. And it will. You're an inspiration to those of us who love our fixer-uppers.
ReplyDeleteI can't ever imagine you just "putting a couch against the wall" and "clothes in the closet" when moving into a new place, Marcia! You have too much of an adventurous spirit for that. Can't wait to see this "dream house" come to fruition 😀
ReplyDeleteWow, from reality to dream, and the other way around. The property must be very appealing to go to all that work. Moving is a lot of work, and building even more so, but in the end you will have exactly what you want. It will be fun to see posts of this adventure.
ReplyDelete