Considering Joy

As I sit here in my new dining room with the sun warmly smiling on my face, a delightful cup of chai tea beside me, I was suddenly reminded of the challenges we have faced throughout the past year that has gotten me to this wonderful moment.  This morning as I showered under a mere trickle of water and then dried my hair in the downstairs bathroom (we only have a toilet and sink upstairs where the bedrooms are), with a single outlet that only works when the switch is "on", my selfish inner child begins to whine and I thought disgustingly, "How many people would put up with this?", and then my moment of anger over the cold, pitiful shower and stupid little single outlet in the bathroom was suddenly over as I realized how GOOD I actually have it right now!  One thought changed my complaining words into joyful words and a smile began to spread across my face.  Remember the post I wrote a few months ago, "Content, with room for improvement"?  Well....I AM!!!  I am content (with room for a few home improvements) and I suddenly realized that I'm joyful for that single outlet!  I'm joyful because that tiny outlet represents so many things for me.  It means not waking in a damp, dirty basement long after my husband has gone out to work for the day.  It means not stepping onto a thin cold carpet covered in dead crickets and spiders.  The master bedroom I now sleep in, with a toilet 2 rooms away and a shower downstairs, now brings me great joy...my cause for joy...it means waking to sunshine streaming through my windows, in a home of my own, to coffee that will only be shared with my husband (that is unless the Tumbleweed Inn is hosting a few guests for some fabu-lous White Hall tea), and knowing that if I need to I can drive up an see the ones I love.

Today I am joyful for the things I once would have lamented about.  Today my heart finds peace...true peace in living through challenges, walking through valleys and then watching as God places the pieces of a broken life back together.  I have found my Saviour in places most unexpected and I have watched in awe as He performed acts that can only be credited to the one who Created me.  I may not always want to praise God for the tiny kitchen or the shower that couldn't be further from the master bedroom but I think the last year of my life has taught me that although I may not like it, I will find joy in the circumstances.  I will begin to count my blessings and thank God for what He has lovingly provided for me.  Because let's face it, I'd much rather wake up in my large, unshared home to a shower rooms away than in tight-spaced basement with a shower only steps away.

Allowing yourself to find joy allows your heart to open up to a world of gratefulness and peace.  I've experienced low points and I know that along this road I will experience more trials and there will be times I will complain, this is a given, but I'm hoping that when those times come that I'll remember the lessons I've learned over the past year and realize that maybe I'm experiencing the pain of the present, so that I can better appreciate the joy in the future.  My goal is to find the joy, to look for the good; to be grateful for the quiet home I live in with only my husband and my dogs instead of complaining about the spritz I have for a shower.  I will be grateful for the creaky, old stairs and limited closet space because that space is ours and not shared.  I will be grateful for the tiny kitchen with no cupboard space because that tiny kitchen looks out into a quiet yard where my dogs can play and we can host a bonfire.  I'll take that tiny outlet if it means Mom is only a short drive away.

So tonight as I watch my husband drive back our long, dirt lane, only minutes from a job he loves, my heart will rejoice and thank God for providing for my needs.  I've always wanted everything the world had to offer and maybe I needed to move 2,000 miles away to realize that everything I needed was always right there staring me in the face.  Before I invite you in for a peek at the Tumbleweed Inn, I'd like to share a few things I've learned over the past year.

1.  God's timing is ALWAYS perfect and it's simply that...HIS timing, not mine.

2.  Trusting God may be one of the hardest things to do, but it's easier than rebelling against His timing.

3.  Experiencing joy doesn't always mean you are happy and thrilled about the situation, but it means finding contentment and gratefulness in the situation at hand.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith develops perserverence."  James 1:2-3

4.  And lastly, I leave you with this thought...when facing a challenge, trial, or difficult circumstance, will you allow yourself to become bItter, allowing the challenge to win, or will you allow God to make you a bEtter person?  "I" is the only difference between the two words...will you choose "I" or will you choose HIM?

That said, allow me to warmly welcome you to the Tumbleweed Inn, come and enjoy the quiet...

(Disclaimer:  Just so everyone is clear...I don't want anyone to feel like we don't want visitors after my comments of "not sharing my home", we DO welcome and very much look forward to our friends and family coming to visit, but at some point we will want you to leave.)  :)

Ok, so it's pink and old, but she's a beaut ta me!  She's got character!

A view from my living room (don't ya just love all the sunshine pouring in??)

The dining room...

My beautiful, big master bedroom!!!

This quiet Maryland farm just wouldn't be complete without the fox hunters, their hounds and the sound of a bugle.

This move wouldn't have taken place without some special people who came to help!!

Mom and Grandma came down one afternoon to help clean...can you both come EVERY week????  Jamie stopped over for lunch that day and then took us over to the farm to watch him feed the buffalo.  Grandma had her first ride in a Hummer that day and it was worth documenting!

 

Isaac and his Grandma were a BIG help!!  Isaac couldn't wait to help alongside the rest of us.  He stepped up on the trailer the moment the tour was over and wasn't ready to stop until every last piece was moved off the trailer!  What a guy...as soon as he was done carrying one piece in, he came back out repeating over and over again, "More!"  Dear Isaac, your so stinkin' cute, but could you please stop growing up so fast?!?  Love, your Auntie Jess.

And once again, my weirdo family chalks another one up in the books!  Rather than vacate the trailer while moving it, they decided to shut the door and hop along for the ride.  That would be my weirdo brother, Digger, who is peering over the top and you can just so see Papa Smurf's hands.  I can't say that moving day didn't have it's share of entertainment.  Thanks to all who helped...in body and in spirit.