My husband and I are experiencing some challenges as we rearrange to make room for the baby we will welcome this fall. Though it is sufficient, our townhome will never be described as spacious. When its small size is coupled with our motley assortment of furniture, it becomes challenging to find room for our possessions.
When we first got married, my husband and I had plans to gradually upgrade our furniture. After spending the first month of our marriage without any living room furniture, we finally did purchase a sofa and loveseat. We thought we would be able to procure a bedroom set, new bookshelves, and some other pieces in the subsequent months. Life happens, though, and other expenses took priority.
The longer we have our mismatched furniture, the less I notice that the pieces don’t match. However, I do notice it on occasion (like when we’re rearranging). In times like this, I realize that I’ve grown quite fond of our furniture. Ironically, it reminds me of our great wealth. We’re wealthy despite the fact that our walls aren’t adorned by works created by famous artists and our rooms aren’t filled with opulent furnishings.
Our wealth is evident in the lively voices and laughter that fill our living room. Instead of a large television and a cable subscription we have a modest setup that allows us to enjoy an occasional movie. We have games that provide hours of free fun around the coffee table. We engage in spirited debates about political issues and current events that we’ve read about on the news or on blogs.
Our wealth is evident in the cuddles we share before going to bed. Our freedom from the drive to “keep up with the Joneses” has left us content, minimizing the stress in our marriage. We’ve learned to enjoy fellowship while completing everyday tasks—doing the dishes, completing yard work, etc. We don’t need extravagant getaways or elaborate dates to maintain our relationship.
Our wealth is evident in the knowledge we’ve gained from the books that fill our mismatched bookshelves. These books have equipped us to comfortably converse with and minister to individuals from varied backgrounds. They’ve helped us be better spouses. They’ve challenged us in our faith.
Our wealth is evident in our choice to tithe and give when we could be using this money to purchase other items and experiences. We wouldn’t have to put up with mismatched furniture if we really didn’t want to. We could purchase new items with the money we use to tithe and give. However, these are priorities to us because we understand that our earthy possessions will one day pass away. We choose to store up for ourselves treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21).
I’ll take these forms of wealth over matching furniture any day.
Are you wealthy despite your humble furniture?
Shared on the following link-ups:
Titus 2sday, Titus 2 Tuesday, Living Proverbs 31, Motivation Monday, Making Your Home Sing & Essential Fridays.
AMEN!!!!!
I’m glad it resonates with you.
Very inspiring. You made me count my blessings again today. God is good and wonderful. Thank you.
You’re welcome. When we take the time to think about it, it’s easy to see the blessings, isn’t it?
I couldn’t agree with you more. When we do buy new pieces, we check out consignment shops where we can buy vintage pieces at great prices. It makes for very eclectic mix, but I love it and it tells our story of frugality mixed with a little character. You are blessed for choosing to tithe over purchasing unnecessary items. You are creating a great example for your new bundle of joy.
Hi Lisa,
I love when furniture and other household items have a story behind them!
I love my mismatched furniture, and my “distressed” kitchen table. Thanks for sharing. Hello from Motivation Monday!
Hi Melissa,
I’m glad you have an appreciation for your furniture, too. Distressing shows character! 🙂
I’m glad I stopped by. I found you through Mom’s the Word link up. Your post has encouraged me today. I also liked the one you wrote about decorating considerations for Christian women. You gave me some things to think about. Thanks for blessing me today. Take care and God bless.
I’m so glad you were encouraged, Michal.
Amen! That is absolutely where we’re at. We could have matching furniture – but think of all we’d give up: peace of mind (we don’t have any debt – but we’d need to go into it to buy furniture), our ability to give when God makes opportunities evident, etc…
Peace of mind is such a blessing! Congrats on being debt free…this is a goal we are working towards.
You sure could be all matchy, matchy but this will tell a much more fun story. When everything is new you worry about it getting scratched up by the children or pets or just vacuuming, this way you can relax. You could paint some of it all the same color or cover some pieces with tablecloths, let your creativity run wild. Being debt free is much more responsible and easy than worrying about how to pay an extra bill to the furniture company. You won’t have regrets at the end of the day and furniture made in the past is usually much more sturdy than the stuff made now. I have been married almost 29 years and we still have what I call the “early newlywed” look. I think you learn to appreciate things more when you gather over time, we also had the first few months of marriage with only 2 chairs in our living room and one of those was a lawn chair, also no television for the first few months. So we had to entertain ourselves and got to spend real time together and really be one with each other. It definitely wasn’t a bad thing for us. I know some who wouldn’t ever agree with that and go into big debt over “things”. We invested in each other. No regrets here, I would do it all again. I want to congratulate you on your new little blessing, best wishes! I really enjoyed your post.
Toodles, Barbi
Hi Barbi,
Great point about worrying about things getting scratched when they are new.
It sounds like your time spent getting to know your husband before getting a TV served you well. When my husband and I have been married 29 years, I hope we’ll look back with no regrets, too.
Love this! I agree that wealth is measured much more in the people that make up the home and the good times you experience there than the furniture and decorations. I agree, but still sometimes struggle with it! 🙂 Thanks for linking up to Motivational Monday!
You’re not alone. I think most of us will always struggle with this to some extent.
Just wanted to let you know we’re featuring your post this week on Motivation Monday! Have a great week!
Thanks, Barb!