Enough, Part 1

When we decided to move, we thought we'd be living in the little house while we remodeled. I said it would be a fun "adventure". Then we found out we'd be tearing the house down and building new. That meant we'd probably be living in my Mom's rent trailer, a small two-bedroom single-wide just down the road from the new property.

At the outset, I was a little excited. I had a sense that the Lord would use our extended time of close-quarters living to do some things in us as a family.

Or maybe I was just being overly optimistic. As the packing got under way, I started to wonder if life in such a small space would be months of what I was experiencing as I packed: no room to move, boxes everywhere. I started to panic a little.

It was right about then that my sister called to let me know that her mom, my stepmom, was offering us her house in Tupelo! Practically fully furnished, except for the bedrooms, even down to dishes in the cabinets. Three bedrooms, two baths, living, dining, big laundry room, porch, fenced in yard, AND pizza delivery! Being just a few miles from Walmart was a nice bonus, too!

We were rescued! Life could proceed as normal while our new home was being built. Mark & I were not in full agreement, however. Mark, while admitting that it would be "easier" in almost every way, simply didn't want to do it. I reasoned (sometimes silently, sometimes not so much) that it was easy for him to want to live in the trailer, since he'd just be sleeping there and wouldn't have a clue about being holed up in such a small space with four kids all day, every day, for six to eight months!

Anyway, somewhere around Wednesday or Thursday of that week, he simply said he was thinking about it, and that was that. But several things he said made me think he was going to, in the end, let us go to the house in Tupelo. So why the unsettled feeling? It was like I was on the verge of getting my way, but knowing deep down it wasn't the right way. Geesh.

That Saturday, Heather came to help me pack, move, or whatever. When she arrived, I took her to see the new property and while we were in the neighborhood, the trailer. She saw it and surprised me by saying she thought it would work. Instantly I knew. It was like I just needed someone to SAY it. I felt so relieved!

All of my initial excitement came rushing back, and suddenly I knew that the reason I was clinging to the idea of the house so much was because it appealed to my sense of comfort. It would require nothing of me to move from one house to another, but to move from our comfy house to this tiny space would stretch me for sure. What I thought was God's provision for me was actually just a shiny, pretty distraction from His best for us as a family. I was somehow reminded of a shiny, lovely piece of fruit in a garden long ago... Why my mother didn't just go on and name me Eve, I'll never know.

By the end of that day, we were pretty much all moved in. We were trying to surprise Mark, but he kept prying, and so he wasn't really all that shocked when we told him he needed to bring over the big pieces of furniture, then "run up to Sam's and buy that futon". A futon, that by the way, is pretty darn comfortable!

Best of all, was that as I lay my head down that night, I had perfect peace and a happy man. We'd done the right thing. I smiled as I remembered my Mama coming by that evening and saying what everyone was thinking: "You're crazy."

That was a week and a half ago. So many people have asked me how we're "making it" in the trailer. The truth is, we're more than just making it. We're actually doing great! We have the bare minimum here, and simply put: It's Enough.

It's enough. Enough clothes, though not many. At all. Seriously, you'd be shocked. Enough food, though we can't store anything (tiny fridge, few cabinets). Enough to eat, though the oven doesn't work (I'm becoming the queen of the grill and the crock pot).

The kids are all in one bedroom in two sets of bunk beds. There is a small closet and a dresser for their clothes.

The second "bedroom" is functioning as a walk-in closet. In it are my clothes (in the closet), all the kids toys that we brought, an extra dresser, a portable hanging bar thingy for Mark's clothes & uniforms, and a bookcase. Besides my clothes, the small closet in that room also holds our extra toilet paper, paper plates, paper towels, ziplocs, etc... Oh, and the vacuum.

Mark & I use the new futon in the den. Our large Gentleman's Chest, that used to be in our bedroom, is now a piece of den furniture, with a TV & VCR on top. It's still full of our clothes and unmentionables.

It's cozy. And it's enough. And there are window unit air conditioners which remind me of being a kid and make me happy.

Later I will post about some of the benefits I'm already seeing. Right now I have to stop and clean my kitchen. Have a wonderful day!

Blessings,
Em