My phone reminded me this morning that we began renovations at the little house a year ago today.
I love looking back through pictures and seeing how far the house has come because it reminds me of how far we have come too through this whole process.
We had never done a major renovation, we had never been Airbnb hosts before, but we both felt deep in our gut?/hearts? that making that little house into a guesthouse was something we were supposed to be doing.
It was not easy and we learned so.dang.much. Late summer when renovations wrapped up we began phase two of the plan, hosting guests. I really loved it. I love talking with our guests, meeting as many of them as possible in person and trying to make their stay a blessing to them.
We found out we sold our home the Saturday morning of our fall barn sale. Cameron waited to tell me until after the sale was over (bless him). We had thirty days to move, so the first thing I did was block off the little house. We had renters filtering in and out until after thanksgiving. So we stayed with our parents some and then after the holiday we settled in and spent Christmas there.
I can’t tell you how much of a gift this little house was to our family while we were renovating our current home. It was so wonderful to have a place to call home while we technically didn’t have one, especially at the holidays.
One thing I noticed pretty quickly was how much messier we are than our guests. A guesthouse and a home serve very different purposes and caring for a family… cooking, laundry, school projects and so on definitely changed the appearance of the house while we stayed there.
One day I was cleaning the bathroom and I chuckled at how messy the bathroom was and then I had one of those moments that humbled my heart. I realized how comfortable we are in our own mess. I wasn’t nearly as uncomfortable with my own mess as I was others. And that realization wasn’t about housekeeping…I am talking about in life. I realized I was all to quick to look at someone else’s mess/sin/problem and want to clean it right up, but when it came to my own I was perfectly comfortable with just sitting in it for awhile. I wish I could say I was instantly changed at that moment, but I continually have to remind myself of this lesson I learned while scrubbing the bathroom floor.
While the process of renovating taught us so much ( another post for another time 🙂 I think what I am most grateful for is the vulnerability it causes that the Lord uses to challenge and cultivate my heart. Trying something new keeps me humble and teachable and I am so grateful for that. I am learning as I go and I am incredibly thankful for grace and teaching each step of the way!
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