It's Not the House, It's the Heart

We said goodbye to our sweet little house in the big woods, and are all moved into…an RV. (Well, I prefer to call it a tiny home.) I still can hardly wrap my mind around it.

Brian and I were sitting together on the staircase of our home about a year ago. “I have a crazy idea.” He said, “But I think it’s a good one.” Uh-oh.

Something about selling our home while the market is hot, making a good profit, and sacrificing a bit living in an RV while we wait for the perfect piece of property.

I mean, you have to admit it was a good idea, but at the time, I thought. “That will never happen. There’s nothing to worry about.”

But I did start to get worried when January came, and the man started fixing up the house like a mad man.

“This is not happening. We are going to fix up the house, and then stay here.”

“Lord, please change this man’s mind. PLEEEEEAAAASE!”

And then we met with the realtor.

“Lord, if this is not supposed to happen, don’t let it happen.”

And then the first buyers backed out.

“See! It’s not supposed to happen. Lord, please change Brian’s mind!”

And then the house went back on the market.

“Lord, please don’t let it go through!”

And then it went through.

Oh, this battle! I hate it! I want to 100% back my up husband, but I DO NOT want to leave our sweet little home with so many special memories, and I certainly DO NOT want to live in a camper for who knows how long.

I love my husband….so so much. I know he wants what is best for our family. But, I mean, REALLY, is purposely putting yourself in a weird (dare I say even awkward) situation…is that what is best for us. REALLY?!

What do you do when you love your husband so, but you really, really, REALLY disagree with him? Well, I can tell you what I did. I started out by praying that God would change HIS mind. I tried to convince the Lord that this is such a horrible idea. I’m not doing it. The end.

Ha! I quickly realized that maybe MY mind was the one that needed changing. Instead of praying, “Lord, change HIM, or change HER,” when we have a problem with someone, we really should pray, “Lord, change ME.”

And you know what? He did. God changed my heart. He changed my attitude. He changed my mind. He pointed out some really ugly spots in my heart that I had not dealt with. He showed me my pride and my selfishness.

And ultimately, He pointed out that our dwelling place here on this earth DOES. NOT. MATTER. What does matter is that whether that dwelling place be a huge mansion in Hollywood or a tiny hut in Africa, it should be pointing the people inside of it to Jesus.

Lord, let this tiny little home, where my hands hit the ceiling in the shower, where I can only bake 6 cookies at a time in the oven, where my kitchen is my living room, and my living room is my dining room, where everything takes longer and is more inconvenient...let this be a little bit of heaven on earth.

Because it’s not the HOUSE, it’s the HEART, and it's not the AESTHETICS, it's the ATTITUDE.

P.S. Here is a little goodbye video I made for our family. Thank the Lord for memories. If the walls of our house could speak, this is what they'd say. Enjoy