"It's the little foxes that spoil the vines... God can make a way where there appears to be none."
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Upstairs we have three beds and yet could I sit in any of them to read books? No. Why not? Annoying sloped ceilings. Maybe if I was 3 feet tall, I could read in bed, but at a whole 5'2" (rarely am I too tall for anything)? Again, no.
I realized too often I've believed any real changes here Simply Cannot Be Made. I imagine lovely things, then the reasoning begins. Deal breakers or building projects that technically we can afford, but which I just don't possess the patience to live through (being older, set in my ways and having experienced plenty of carpenters trudging through my house, thank-you, but no).
So usually? I quit dreaming. Firmly I tell myself to deal with it, accept defeat. Heaven and my perfect home will come soon enough.
Er hem.
Well, for 13 years my brain said, "It's impossible to read in bed at this house," and do you know what happens when you declare something to be impossible? It generally is. For you, er, me. "Be it unto you even as you believe" and all that.
But then c-r-e-a-k. One day my mind opened the Possibility Door.
"What if there is a way to read in bed up here, but I'm just not seeing it?"
"After 13 years?" "Yeah, after 13 years." (Months ago I told Tom, "I'm now into talking to myself. So if I'm not standing right in front of you, speaking to you, then just ignore me.") シ
So I thought of ideas. Stared at each bed. Imagined solutions and oh my, actually found one!
If I placed the bed in my Secret Bedroom (aka my Closet Room) on the adjacent wall, the ceiling would be higher above my pillows and I could actually read in bed.
Oh my goodness. I'd found the answer.
Now, I'd have to make the bed shorter, but that's ok. Usually I sleep curled-up anyway.
Whew. One morning I exhausted myself with the rearranging and the cleaning (dust! Oh, the dust.), but, with God's help, I did it. Changed that tiny room around, doubled the floor space, even, and now I can read in bed.
Hmm. A younger me loved needing to discover inexpensive, creative solutions. But now, not so much.
Perhaps there's a sadness that I lack that same energy? An annoyance that I'm growing older? Frustration that this small house seems to limit my ideas?
Or is my lack of patience and acceptance setting the limitations, acting like clouds, blocking-out what could be? Could constant gratitude, instead, sharpen my creativity? (I think I know the answer to that one.)
Well anyway, may this be yet one more lesson to keep me from feeling stifled, limited and just too old.
May I recall that challenges can keep my imagination in shape, alive, and creative enough to find solutions to all problems worth solving and making Life sweeter--
--even while the outside world is anything but.
Growing older? Yes, some parts are negative, but along the way we've picked up far more positives which can help us overcome the bad stuff.
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Whatever Happened to Our Childhood Wonder? I'm not sure she discovered the answer, but I admire her for going on a search. Too often we get all 'oh hum' and, sadly, release things (relationships, hobbies, good habits, etc.) before their time.
Oh! Did I already share this tiny house with you? I really like the antique feeling she gave it.
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Books I Finished Reading in July:
Murder and Marble Cake by Nancy McGovern
Pioneer Girl: Growing Up On the Prairie by Andrea Warren
Strangulation and Strawberry Cake by Nancy McGovern
Sugar and Sliced by C.A. Phipps
Don't Sweat The Small Stuff by Richard Carlson
Winterbound by Margery Williams Bianco
Always a Sleuth by Liz Turner
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"I sincerely believe we would accomplish many more things if we did not so automatically view them as impossible." --- John L. Mason
Oh yes!
![🙂](https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t4c/1/16/1f642.png)
(We've had cooler days lately and it's been a nice return to who I really am. heh.)
(Beginning my celebration of Autumn in July really made all the difference. I've definitely found my new tradition.)
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2 comments:
Amen sister!! I want the door of my mind to creak open, too. It's easy for me to become complacent with life, and sometimes I get stuck there. How great that you were able to rearrange your room for better reading! It just goes to show that all things are possible. Recently, the Lord has been showing me that I must ask with faith, believing that He can and will help me. Since my husband's stroke, there are some chores that he's no longer able to do. Goodness, I even climbed up to our roof (we have a one-story home), to check on it after a bad storm. The Lord must have been carrying me, because I haven't done anything like that in many years. One thing for sure, we don't want to miss out on the blessings He has stored up for us!!
May you enjoy many hours of comfortable reading, Debra!
I really like your beautiful "new" room. I also agree with your other comments on aging. I really feel the world is winding up into something terrible and I've been spending lots of time praying, reading and trying to understand what is happening. Jesus is coming soon? I sure hope so. I'm sorry I didn't comment sooner.
Blessings,
Betsy
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