Practicing Thankfulness

I wish I could report that fixing up the motorhome is going smoothly and well. But no - not so much. I have started, though, and that's something. I'm working in the bedroom, which is at the back of the bus, and the lightest and brightest room. But before I can paint, I have to prep all the woodwork. There's a lot of it - and it's really dirty. I'm not exaggerating when I say I'm cleaning one side of a 14 inch cabinet door for 15 - 20 minutes before it's clean. (And yep, I'm using a good TSP cleaner.)

As I scrub and scrub and scrub - often in uncomfortable positions, due to the small size of the room - I'm focusing on two things. One: Even though this is the most tedious and difficult cleaning job I've ever done in my life, at least I'll know it will be really clean when I'm through. And two: Instead of focusing on how hard the job is, I'm focusing on what I like about our tiny house.

It occurs to me that this last part is a good reminder for any homemaker. Because I've met women who live almost literally in shacks and women who live in what I consider nearly-mansions, and all of them can point to things they hate about their homes. It's not emotionally or spiritually healthy for us to focus on what we hate about our homes - so making a concerted effort to think about and thank God for what we have is a good thing.

So, I find myself talking with God as I clean, thanking him that I currently have two homes: One that's keeping us currently cozy and will hopefully soon sell and get us started on our new homestead, and one that will shelter us in the near future.

I also thank him for a tiny motorhome house with:



* Real wood cabinets. Sure, the finish is pretty worn out, but think how nice they'll be once they are painted.

* A sunny, comfortable bedroom. There are three large windows in this room, and the closet doors are mirrored, so there's plenty of light and cheer here. And, unlike a lot of RV bedrooms, there's actually room to climb out of bed and use the restroom without disturbing my husband. (Or vice versa.) Score!

* A bathtub. It's not huge, but it's there.

The bedroom.
* A gas stove. It keeps the motorhome nice and warm, and it looks like a real fire. I like the ambiance!

* New flooring. And it's not carpet! I think it will be easy to care for, and I'm grateful.

* Lots of storage.

* A gas stovetop. I've never used one, so I'm thankful for the chance to give one a try.

I'm also thankful for a husband who is pretty much letting me do what I want with the motorhome, without complaint. (Yes, he was a little shocked I wanted to paint the real wood, but he didn't argue with me. And when I ordered some bedding only to have it be a different color from what it looked like online, he didn't complain when I returned it and ordered a rather feminine, flowered set instead.)

And so I keep scrubbing, scrubbing, scrubbing. And soon (I hope) I'll be sanding, sanding, sanding - then painting, painting, painting...and I'll only have the bedroom done. But I'm trying to see all this work as a great opportunity to practice thankfulness and give God his due credit.


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