Gratitude for the Home you Have

Just some thoughts to share today.

 

My husband and I are fasting for Ramadan, and this year the days are particularly long. The fasts get easier as the month goes on, but my first fast a few weeks ago I definitely felt it! It was ridiculously humid out and I got stuck in traffic (with no AC!) for well over an hour. By mid-afternoon I was thirsty beyond belief, as hot as ever, and feeling hungrier and weaker with every hour. But when I did finally break my fast at sunset, I can’t remember ever being more grateful for a tall glass of cool water! The next day the heat broke and there was an incredible breeze blowing through our home all day :)

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As much as we try to make gratitude part of our everyday, sometimes you just have these moments of really sincere and really profound thankfulness. Even when I felt that heat and that thirst, I knew relief would come. At sunset I would drink, and eventually I would cool off. But so many people can't take comfort in knowing relief will come – their thirst and their hunger is real, with no end in sight.

It got me thinking about how much we have to be grateful for. I’ve spent the last few weeks unpacking, organizing and decorating our new place, as well as thinking about all the other ways I wish I could decorate it…

If you’ve ever spent a couple hours browsing design blogs and magazines, it’s sometimes difficult not to feel a bit covetous. All those ridiculously beautiful interiors, the stunning furniture so perfectly styled with the most fabulous and interesting accessories - suddenly I’m finding myself an awful lot less interesting and my own home feels like it just doesn’t measure up. Tell me I’m not the only one who’s felt this way! But in that moment I have to catch myself, and remember that just having a roof over my head is an immense blessing. The freedom to dedicate a bit of time and money to decorating even more so. 

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Our home may not always be everything I could dream of, but so much of it is more than many others would ever dream of. I don’t ever want to lose sight of that fact, or forget why decorating is so meaningful for me.  It shouldn’t ever be about keeping up with the Joneses, or in our case as bloggers, making every space magazine-ready. It’s about creating a home that is beautiful - for my family, and as an act of reverence to God. He loves beauty, and so I want our home to reflect that. It’s about using the talents and the passions He has given me, in a way that pleases Him. I want our home to feel warm and inviting, a space we want to be in, a place where we can live comfortably, work productively, play happily, and be always inspired to worship. A huge part of that is being grateful for the home we have. That doesn’t mean I can’t aspire to prettier designs, it just means getting cranky about something I can’t afford is pretty ungracious when I have so much to be thankful for :)