I think it finally hit me that Thomas and I are moving into our new place in 5 days! OHMYCOW!!! It's exciting to move into a new place, start fresh, decorate...but this is ESPECIALLY exciting for both of us! Before Thomas and I got married, he was living in a studio because he was still in school. His lease didn't end until Sept of 2011...so we both crammed everything we could in there when we first got married. It's very funny how we first started out...
We didn't have a bed, we had a twin air mattress. We thought that to make the place look bigger, we would squeeze the air mattress in our walk in closet and we slept under our clothes for about 2 months. When we were both tired of not sleeping and we had enough mula, we upgraded to a queen! YES! Now we have...a double high queen air mattress! We were thrilled! We felt so blessed because one of us didn't have to fall of the bed anymore! But after a few months of that...and deflation...and hardly any room to walk in our studio because our giant air mattress was in the middle of it...we saved up enough money to buy...a REAL full size bed! No air mattress, no more trouble getting situated on our moon bounce of a bed while we ate (we don't have a table and chairs) and no more having to climb over the bed to get to the bathroom (which has no door, by the way). WOO HOO! We REALLY felt blessed!
Then it came time to start looking for an apartment a couple of months later. We searched high and low, spent hours looking on craigslist and even consulted the help from a realtor. Then we found the PERFECT place! It was available when we needed to move and the price was within our budget! It truly was a God send. Right now we have a half size refrigerator, a half size stove, no dishwasher and about 2 feet of counter space. God blessed us with a REAL size refrigerator, a REAL sized stove, a bathroom with a DOOR, a dishwasher (seriously, Thomas and I don't have to argue about who has to do the dishes next!) We also got a few bonuses! A fireplace and an in-unit washer and dryer! Our bathtub gets clogged super easy and our new tub has the glorious addition of being a whirlpool tub. And paying and keeping up with laundry has been very difficult. We really, REALLY feel blessed!
A lot of people questioned how we were going to make it work when we first got married. I had to quit my job to move to Chicago and Thomas didn't have a job. But we did it! We were obedient and persevered through some tough times and God blessed us because of it. Coming from barely anything to absolutely everything we need makes us SO stinkin' grateful. I have never appreciated a microwave like I do now. We still need to fill our new place with furniture, but when we get that couch and that wonderful table and chairs...sigh! The joys of being able to sit down on something other than the floor or the bed to eat! And having plenty of space in the kitchen to cook will make cooking less disgusting with all of those dishes being piled up! I can do laundry whenever it needs to be done and can "keep up house" and do all those wifely duties a wife is supposed to! heehee :) I can't wait to make our house a home :)
God used the beginning of our marriage to teach us patience and how to be grateful. Some people have a lot when they first get married...a car, a house, great careers, which is not bad, but that was just not that case with Thomas and me. God had a different plan in mind. The best part about all of these different challenges is that we were able to grow spiritually alongside one another. Our walk with the Lord strengthened and I wouldn't trade that for anything in the world. Today we are stronger in Christ.
Saturday is the big day! And ironically, that is also the same time I moved back home from California exactly 1 year ago!! I can't believe all of the things I've gone through in the past year. You think your plans are good, but God's are always better! "A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." Proverbs 16:9
