Do you have space in your home that you just cannot stand? Like it makes your heart feel heavy just thinking about it? That is how I felt about my bedroom for many, many years before we ventured to remodel.
My room had beautiful, vaulted ceilings, an open floor plan, and French doors leading to a hot tub on my patio. Sounds wonderful, right!? Wrong!! Now picture the walls a dark moss green (think of the color that was popular in the early 2000s), the ceiling a dark beige, and the hot tub broken and ugly!!
I loathed the room and spent as little time in there as possible. This wasn’t really a problem when I was working full time, and barely had time to stop for a breath. In those days, I stole my moments of rest at work shut up in my office, or on my lunch break under a blooming cherry tree. But as soon as I quit my job to stay home and teach my kids, the dark and dingy cave was much less than an oasis. It took only six months before I was screaming “enough!!”
My amazing husband was so good and patient with me, as I started planning the remodel that I knew was of the utmost necessity. I immediately put him to work painting, swapping out ceiling fans and taking a Sawzall to the hot tub.
Inside Remodel
The ugly green walls and the dark and dingy ceiling quickly transformed into the most beautiful and delicate shade of white (BM Chantilly Lace) that I could have imagined. I bought new lamps for my nightstands and a floor lamp to light my reading by, and a small new cabinet for our printer and other office-related things.
I sold my large dresser and found a new way to store my clothes so that I’d have plenty of room to fit in my new favorite thing….my nest!! This is the most perfect oversized round swivel barrel chair that is so soft and comfortable, I can honestly sit in it all day (seriously, I’ve done it). (I’ve tried to find the chair online so that I could link out to it for you guys, but the closest I could find was this chair on Amazon. I apologize for the imperfect referral!)
Outside Remodel
Outside, was where the biggest transformation occurred. There was no way to get the hot tub out in one piece, as we had sealed off the entrance by which the previous owners would have brought it in. My husband had no choice (*much to his dismay, I’m sure*) but to take a Sawzall to it. After allowing others to come and pillage it for parts, he and a good friend cut it apart rather quickly.
The blank canvas that I was left to work with was a wonderful thing (and honestly, this woman’s dream come true). I quickly went onto Wayfair’s website and pieced together my outdoor escape. After days and days of research, I finally settled on the perfect outdoor sectional. My biggest concern was ending up with thin, hard cushions that would make my bum numb, or plastic that would melt in the extreme heat that we experience each summer. My hard work paid off, and the sectional we ended up with couldn’t be more perfect. The cushions are so thick and cushy, and the plastic has made it through at least one summer in 110-degree weather.
I added the sectional to the shopping cart along with an outdoor rug, a fire table, and a couple of cute planters, and the end result couldn’t have been more beautiful!
So why go through all the trouble? Is our rest really that important??
Old Testament Command
You’d better believe it is!! From the beginning of creation, God laid down a command to rest. We are not gods. Our bodies were not intended to carry the weight of the world for all of eternity.
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. Exodus 20:8-10
Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and so that the slave born in your household and the foreigner living among you may be refreshed. Exodus 23:12
This was a part of God’s law to His people. Those in the Old Testament were held to it.
New Testament Gift
But Jesus came to abolish this law. We are no longer held to it as our ancestors were, but the instruction is still for our good. God has given us rest as a gift, to make our lives better and more bearable.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
The gift of rest that Jesus has given to us is found in Him. He is our true rest. He eases our burdens, and carries the weight of the world for us. When we follow His truth and instruction, we can rest in knowing that we are taking the best possible path in life. Whatever bumps lie ahead, He will be there to help us around or through them.
There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience. Hebrews 4:9-11
Bringing it all Together
So, how do I enjoy my new remodel for rest? These new spaces, both inside and out, are where I go to meet my Father each day. Depending on the weather, I could either be curled up under a comfy Barefoot Dreams blanket nestled deep into my bedroom nest, or I could be stretched out on my back patio sectional enjoying the little bit of cool air before the heat sets in.
No matter where I’m seated, God meets me where I’m at. I open my current Bible study (lately, this has been something from The Daily Grace Co., a journal from Cultivate What Matters, or one of my own study pages that I’ve printed out), I write in my prayer journal, and I sit in His presence (as long as my kiddos will allow).
God is so good to provide all that we need. It is a lot of fun to create a beautiful space that is inspiring and restful, but it is not necessary. If you are weary and in need of a moment of rest, don’t wait until the setting is perfect, reach out and ask Him for help right now.
