Monday, September 27, 2010

Messing Up to Clean Up

We've lived in our home for six years. That's longer than we've been in any previous home, and families have a way of nicking woodwork, chipping paint, and soiling carpets. Sometimes, you have to mess up to clean up. Last week I asked my husband to relocate all of the furniture form our bedroom so that I could clean the carpet. It was then that I noticed just how poor our walls looked. So while our night-stands reside in the middle of our kitchen, my desk takes up space in the dining room, and two dressers sit in the living room I start looking at paint. I think I want red, but then I worry about being committed to it. Maybe it would be too dark. And I change my mind over and over again. Meanwhile, there is mess all around me.

Books stacked on chairs, and papers in shoe boxes clutter surfaces as far as the eye can see. I find a look that I love, and I plan. He walks in the door on a Friday afternoon, and I excitedly share my vision. Nervous. Will he like it? Will he say no?

Ever gentle, and ever kind, he drives me into town. First the paint store, and then the lumber yard. Dinner hasn't been made yet, and still he meets my needs.

He starts to tape as dinner is grilled and the minute he finishes his plate he starts to work again. Two coats before bedtime. I don't deserve him, but I am so glad that he is mine.

Saturday morning he wakes early, driving a group of home schooled children that he coaches across state lines to participate in a cross country meet. 12 hours of his day- given to others. He returns home to paint some more. I sit, watching him, in awe of his selflessness. He is a picture of Christ to me, and it's because of him that I can better understand the Father's love for his children, Christ's love for the church.

Monday rolls around, and furniture is still displaced. And he is still serving. It is a JOY to be HIS!

Counting gifts 76- 95


♥ a husband with an extraordinary work ethic

♥ being loved as Christ loved the church

♥ a wonderful example for our children, especially our boys

♥ his desire to lead our family

♥ his smiling eyes


♥ a single cosmos stem in an old horseradish jar gifted from my eldest girl

♥ simple beauty

♥ hydrangeas, still in bloom

♥ dental check-ups

♥ haircuts


♥ the adoration of a daughter

♥ sweet candies

♥ relaxed homeschooling

♥ feminine clothing

♥ a second batch of green beans growing in the garden


♥ much needed rain

♥ cooler temperatures

♥ first eggs from spring pullets

♥ a shopping trip with a daughter on a Saturday afternoon

♥ undeserved mercy

My list grows; is yours?




holy experience

7 comments:

sherry said...

your heart is precious, tracy.
may i know what paint color
was used? thanks. it's beautiful.

jAne

Tracy said...

jAne~ Just a tease of what the room will look like, but he bottom part that you see in the above photo is Sherwin Williams Roman Column. In semi-gloss, because of the faux board and batten that he installed for me. He's a keeper!

Nadine said...

Wonderful blessings to be thankful for!
We are trying to decide paint colors for our kitchen and living room...I keep changing my mind - too many choices these days! :)

Blessings!
~Nadine

Susan said...

I think a good marriage is our most precious gift from our Savior. His Word says, Two shall become one, and I have seen it so in my own life. I wish every marriage could be like yours and mine :o) We are blessed woman.

~~Deby said...

I am so thankful for "our" keepers...my list would never end either...marriage has been a taste of heaven for me in many respects...I am sad by the women and men who have not had that Holy LOVE for each other and who are not Wholly committed to one another...
God is so good..and I am so unworthy..

Deanna Rabe - Creekside Cottage Blog said...

Wonderful!

So glad to be one of the women who are married to such amazing men!

It is such a gift!

Terri said...

Tracy, I love this post and I love how you speak about Verne! Such wonderful blessings!

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