08 Apr Starting Over and Over
I sent this photo to our family chat one day, and one of our daughters said, “That is a really amazing photo. I hope you’re putting that up on your blog.”
My quick response was, “What as? Burnt dreams?” Wow. Yeah. That was caustic. Our daughter corrected me, “Starting over.”, she wrote back. (Families are great for being loving and honest with us. I am so thankful God put this young woman on my team!)
Almost three years ago, we left our lovely house, with sparkles in our eyes, and an amazing floor plan for our bus conversion tiny home.
I don’t know how it is at your abode, but my husband almost couldn’t keep up with my constantly changing furniture arrangements and room swaps when we had a house…
Now, living in 216 square feet of floor space can have its many challenges, and especially for one such as I, who has never appreciated clutter, nor do I still to this day. This being said, I may have changed our floor plan in this bus conversion just a few times, (but that is not what this blog post is about today)… Back to the fire…
Seeing that we own and operate a small business, we have tools and stock which need some place to go. So, in line with our desire to build our home without going into arrears, we saw the coolest idea online on how to use pallets to build a shed! My husband is always in for trying anything different (foods, adventures, and so on…), so he jumped right into this task. He drove around town looking for used pallets, and found out “if you can move ’em, you can have ’em!”
Pay attention, friends, because I am going to share an important tip with you, (one that we were not given): building is made a whole lot easier if the pallets are all the same basic size.
We used the pallets, just as they were, for the framework of the building, as well as for the roof-line, using 2×4’s as support beams. Other than purchasing screws, we were determined to use only repurposed materials for the building of the shed!
I am sure I am not the only one who has read such wording, or has seen a video by those who say such things as, “using only repurposed materials…”. Call me a sucker, but I actually believed we could do this.
(One really amazing factor, I have to add, was that our neighbour offered to barter with some sheets of plywood that he had available to use on our roof, at the cost of some of our water bottles. Who, but God, would provide a neighbour that works in constructing new homes in a nearby town, to move next to us at this very time?! – a wonderful man that didn’t blink twice when invited to dine with two strangers that live in a converted school bus. We felt blessed and thankful.)
At first, we were gung-ho, and went at the build with gusto! After a couple of hard, labouring weeks, our excitement waned, we ran out of usable pallets, and just kind of gave up, never finishing the building of the shed. Sadly, it seemed as this was one more defeat on our character, and yet another disappointment.
Almost three years ago, we left our lovely house, with sparkles in our eyes, and an amazing life plan.
Since then, my husband had an accident rendering him blind in one eye, I closed my home health care business, our bus was grounded because of mechanical issues, and we were stuck in mud for months on a terrible piece of land… Thankfully, we have since moved to a great place, with our own well and our own road – starting over (and over)
We are working on starting over again, pretty much regularly. Whether it be in our thought patterns, or in our life plans… No need to allow discouragement or bitterness. Just as changing the floor plan for efficiency’s sake makes life easier and more pleasant inside our home, so can changing life plans and thought patterns better our life situation.
And we are definitely learning to be flexible! That is a good trait… One never knows what life may bring our way!
My part, my responsibility, is in my attitude — which you may have noticed from my harsh comment near the beginning of this post, was in need of starting over again.
I needed a fresh look, and not just that day. I need a constant reminder to trust God! Start over, with peace.
Stay tuned for posts on our build – yes, we are completely renovating the inside of our home…
Trusting Me (Jesus), you will be unshakeable and assured, deeply at peace. In this world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.” John 16:33 the Message
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