Over the last couple of weeks I have been doing my part in our ongoing home improvement project, by removing wallpaper. This was another reminder of my mom and dad for me. Mom would often tell stories about the hours that they spent peeling off very old wallpaper. I guess that this made a pretty big impression on me. Ken and I have mostly avoided wallpaper and therefore it's removal ....that is until now. Somewhere around 2002, Ken decided to paint our really nasty kitchen cabinets. It was an amazing transformation. At least in the way they looked. They were still the same old, very cheap and rickety cabinets - but boy did they look much better. And I decided that it would be just great to add a wallpaper border at the ceiling. Sigh. I did like that wallpaper very much. It was a snippet of the beach with the sand and water and shells. At the same time, we repainted the entire living room, entry and hallway and created an overall "beach" theme (including several plastic palm trees). I don't know exactly what I was thinking, but we also created a "window" on one wall with a wallpaper mural of a walkway to a beach. So sitting on my sofa you might glance over and think there was beach just outside. Can you tell that I love the beach? But it was time for a change.
Last week the palm trees all went to Goodwill. Ken removed the trim around the fake window and I started removing that wallpaper mural. What an awful job. I watched several YouTube videos of "easy wallpaper removal" and tried all of the tricks I had seen. Nothing worked like the videos! I finally figured out that I needed to first remove the actual picture portion of the mural and then the backing peeled right off of the wall. But it was a LONG process to slowly peel off small bits of the mural. By the time I had the mural removed, I felt like I had a really good system figured out. So surely the kitchen border would be quick. Boy, was I mistaken! In the kitchen, the border picture portion peeled right off of the wall, leaving just the backing. I was celebrating (since the backing had come off fairly easily on the mural)! But the first small section took me a very long time to remove, and it was clear, once again, that none of the tricks of those videos were working for me. I have stated very firmly, that I will never put wallpaper on any wall - ever again!
I've been thinking about how often things don't go as we planned. Even when we are careful and get all the information ahead of time. Something doesn't work right, the directions are not very clear, a piece is missing, you don't have the correct tool, or the wallpaper does not just peel right off of the wall. When things like this happen, you really have a choice in how you react. It can be a really big problem, or you can just sort of go with flow and make the best of things. Boy do I wish that I was much quicker to just let things go and not so fast to become discouraged. In all honesty (and remember I have always said that honesty and truth telling were the most important thing about this blog) I am a bit discouraged by this PROCESS of home improvement. Everything is taking much longer than we had expected. Since we are doing most of the work ourselves (or should I say Ken is doing most of the work), other things get in the way of our projects. Things like work, grocery shopping, events we planned months ago - you know what I mean - LIFE! Sometimes it is just hard to imagine the project ever being finished when the to do list is much longer than the "done" list.
Last week at my small group meeting, we watched a short video clip that had some great advice. Instead of just praying about something (you would like to see change, or achieve, or have, or create) for 30 days spend 10 minutes each day praying about that something. Then, after those 10 minutes - DO SOMETHING towards that something. For example, if you need a new job, pray about this request and sit quietly with Jesus for 10 minutes. Then spend 10 minutes doing something towards that new job. It may be brushing up a resume, or researching an entire new field. It might be learning a new skill that might change what job you seek. What great advice. A wonderful reminder that we can't just pray and do nothing - but we also can't just work without praying! It's about that balance!
This weekend Ken is away at a photography conference that he planned last January. Of course we had no idea that we would be in this process when those plans were made. In a few weeks, I will be gone for an entire weekend scrapbooking. But in spite of my discouragement about these projects not getting done, I am so thankful for these forced breaks from all the "to do's". I am going to using this new 30 day challenge as a way to focus on prayer and action. I am sure that all of our projects will get done, in time. We will have everything out of the boxes and back in place. Walls will be painted and tools will be stored back in the garage. I am convinced that the discouragement that I feel will be helped by this simple 10 minute prayer/activity challenge. I will be sure to update on my progress in future blogs!
Jesus, thank you for providing breaks for Ken and I from all of the tasks before us. Thank you for reminding me of my mom and dad and the legacy of their marriage. Holy Spirit, help us all to have more patience when things don't go as planned. Revive us as we practice this 10/10 challenge over the next month. Thank you Jesus for always hearing our prayers. Amen
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