To
help get you up to speed with our current situation let me start off with a
little background history. Deep breath. Okay here we go.
Rodney
and I sold our very nice house three years into our marriage.
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| Our first house |
There are very few things I share
publicly about hiccups in my life but let me just say that if you ever get a
light bulb that flashes with envisions of going down our same path, run like
hell and do not let the door hit you on the way out. It has not been easy to say the least.
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| Nuts that fell from the ceiling |
I
truly believe our faith in God keeps us from dragging each other out back. The
process of remodeling a worn out house that faced years of neglect has been
long, dusty, expensive and way worse than we ever anticipated. The crazy
stories are endless and I could entertain people for hours with things such as
discovering locks on the interior doors as if the previous owners locked
someone or something inside. Then there was the time my husband poked the
ceiling that was bowing down only he ended up with piles of nuts that fell down
on his head. There's also the grand memory of when we only had a few weeks to
move in and his friends were all over helping him. I left to run errands and
came back hours later to find they had unexpectedly gutted the majority of the
house. My husband almost died that day.
November of this year will mark two years in this house.
Although we have gutted 90% of the house and redid all the plumbing, electricity,
installed new dry wall plus fixed and updated many other major issues, it feels
as if visually hardly anything has been done. My heart yearns to have a house
again that lacks constant projects, noises from an air compressor running or
nail guns, hammers or the constant tools found lying around. This journey
continues to test my faith, patience and at times the idea of living in a tent
sounds way more relaxing than here. However, I feel that after almost two years
of struggle we finally found a gem. Hidden underneath two layers of nasty
carpet existed a hardwood floor. It is not perfect. It needs work, repair and
some boards replaced but each dent and scratch has a story. Each mark exist
from years of being in place and from holding strong against resistance. The
floor still needs sanded and refinished but we are choosing to keep it. The
floor is the only remaining piece of this house still of value that is even
worth keeping.
It reminds me of life, my husband
and marriage. Our lives are hit with constant pressure and trials. More often
than not I find people give up, makes excuses, blame others or find an escape.
What if we all learned to navigate through the dents and dings with our faith
holding strong and believe that better days are coming while attempting to
learn from every trial? Never giving up is the true testimony and like that
hard wood floor buried beneath layers of ugliness all it takes is someone to
see the hidden beauty.
Someone
once told me a great thought to consider about trials. In life we have three
choices. In the face of adversity you can give up, walk away or fight. We
refuse to give up or walk away from this house (major pain in my rear) because
we believe in it. We see its potential and just like my husband and I, we
believe in each other regardless of how hard some days might be. We chose to
stand and fight. Giving up, with God’s grace has never been an option. I've
learned over the years that instead of seeing his flaws sometimes I have to
face my own. The more I improve, the more he does as well. Like most people,
despite flaws there are many good traits hidden under life's dents and dings. I
just wish more people would be willing to weather the storm and stick it out
through those trials. If so, one day more could see the fruits of their labor.
I
am not perfect by any means nor claim to be. In all honesty I still swear and
curse this house but I believe in the future verses just what today brings. I
wish more people could keep the faith and not give up so easily. When people
do, they miss out on so many hidden treasures.
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| Found in the roof rafters |
-Sarah
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