We’re now down to a little less than three weeks until we move.  Crazy how quickly time is passing!

As we’re about to leave our first home together, I am reminded of how the ideal woman and the ideal wife is not made from a cookie cutter.

When we first got married, I compared myself to other women.  I would see how they would take care of their house, how they blessed their husband, how they planned for and prepared meals, etc.  I saw single women doing some things better than me.  I felt like I wasn’t good enough.  I couldn’t be a good enough wife.

I admit….yes, I definitely still do struggle with those thoughts.  But I know that there is no such thing as THE ideal wife.  God made every woman different.  God made every husband different.  What works in one household may not necessarily work in another.  Sometimes it’s just for a season of life….sometimes it isn’t.

When our church was hosting a Home Fellowship (basically a home Bible study with a few families from church) I was so embarrassed to be taking….a salad mix for the dinner.  A mix.   None of the other ladies in my circle would bring a mix.  They would buy their own lettuce, chop it up, and of course have other fresh vegetables to add.

But those other ladies are not me.  For one thing, they don’t have a 9 x 5 kitchen with little counter and refrigerator space.  For another thing….they might be gifted differently than me.  It is not bad or wrong or sinful to purchase and offer a salad mix at a potluck.  It does not make me less of a wife or less of a woman.

I used to think that I needed to do all these things to be the perfect wife.  I needed to be able to cook proficiently (and generally speaking, enjoy it!) and have the house constantly clean.

It’s okay that I am not a gourmet chef.  It’s okay that I’m not a proficient cook.  It’s okay that I am not able to invent my own recipes or know the substitutes for ingredients that I don’t have.

Whenever anybody comes over, I sometimes die a little inside because our house isn’t spotless.  But…it’s okay if the house isn’t constantly clean!  It’s okay that oftentimes our couch has to be storage for things like books or mail because there is no other space in our house.

And guess what?  It’s okay if my house and our life looks nothing like my parents.  Or my in-laws.  Or either of my sisters.

God has gifted people differently. God has called people to different life seasons and experiences.

This house has helped teach me hat I don’t have to live up to certain standards….because sometimes I just can’t.  And that’s okay!  As long as I am striving to honor the Lord and adequately take care of my husband, our house and our life is beautiful just the way it is!

-Bonnie

So we’re moving in just under 4 weeks.  I am extremely excited to be finally heading off for pilot training!  We both can’t wait to truly begin our Air Force life together.

But it is very bittersweet to leave our first house….our first home together.  The place we will have lived in for nine months.  Even though it is only 12 feet by 12 feet, we have made so many memories here.  We have both laughed here and cried here.  Yes, this has been a wonderful house in which to start out.  Not to mention the fact that we have amazing landlords right next door!

This house has taught me several lessons, though.  One of which is creativity.

When our house looks like this…

…we have had to learn to be creative as far as storage and just living life.  In the above picture, you can see our bedroom, family room, and library.  The Pilot’s office is just to the left of the bedroom, and the cameraman (my wonderful husband) is standing in the corner of the room.  (We do have a mini kitchen and bath, not pictured.)

I will admit, that yes….at first it was very difficult to get used to.  Storing bath towels in the main room and sometimes having to unpack the refrigerator every time I want to get one thing out (and then repack it just so) were not on my list of preferences for a house.  It did get annoying a couple of times when cooking to get out, say, my crock pot, a cutting board and knife, only to have nowhere to place the ingredient I got out next.  Then, while taking the lid off of a can, placing the lid to the crock pot  on top of the only free surface (the top of the refrigerator), and using my elbow to balance a bowl I had knocked over in the small space, somehow being dexterous enough to get a meal together.  It was challenging.

But somehow it all came together.  And I even became bold enough to try side dishes.  One night we even had two!  It took a while to get the swing of things, but we definitely did.  After that first week, I had only mild irritations at the space.  It really has been perfect for us, suiting all our needs.  Definitely not spacious….but honestly what more do we need right now?  There hasn’t been anything that we realized we needed desperately in order to live but we couldn’t have it because there was no room.

We did learn to get creative, though.  Like how my love’s remote controlled airplane is stored behind the TV.  Cardboard boxes have served for much of the Pilot’s clothing storage.  The TV screen is on top of our dresser.  Our ironing board hangs on a wall in the kicthen, the vacuum cleaner is on the side of the dresser, and the Pilot’s ties are on a rack behind our bedroom door.

Together, we have made this house a home.  And we love it!  Four canvases of rose pictures hang above our bed, and in the picture above you can see the mirror wall set that was a wedding gift.  On it are four candles and a “Liberty” sign that we got on discount at JoAnns.  Even those touches aren’t what made it a home, though.  It was the late nights we lay in bed talking together.  The times we laughed so hard it hurt.  The times we cuddled up to watch a movie.  The dinners we shared.  The game nights with our amazing neighbors.  Everything made it the most wonderful first home we could have asked for!

-Bonnie