Domestication

This weekend my lovely parents came all the way to Midland to help me ‘become domesticated’, whether they knew it or not. The house that I lived in for three years in college was, well let us just call it rather modest. In reality it was old and worn out, so we did not take the time to fix it up real nice or put nice things in it. Consequently, I only had a small bed, a ‘Ray Smith Special’ desk, a few hand-me-down couches that were either half-broken or smelled bad, my growing collection of books, some basic kitchen stuff, and clothes. I had a long ways to go towards being ‘domesticated’ in any sense of the word.

So, Mom and Dad helped me pick out furniture and decorations for my apartment this weekend. I wish you could have been a fly on the wall of not only the three of us, but also the three of our minds the past couple of days. I will try to portray each member separately and then give you a glimpse into the interactions of all three of us.

Mom – Mom wants nothing more than for me to have a nice, homey apartment. Mom gets no greater joy than to get to spend money, especially when it is not hers. By no means is mom extravagant or over-the-top in her purchases, but she does not mind spending money on things, which she feels is necessary or would ‘complete the room’. Mom could shop all day and does not mind ‘just looking’. Mom really just wants the apartment to look presentable for when people come over and for me to feel at home.

Dad – Dad is as tight as they come, so he values function over fashion. Dad knows that there are things that I need, such as a table and chairs, towels, a couch and chair, etc., but still cringes on the inside anytime money has to be spent. This is not all bad; in fact, it is a truly desirable quality for the most part. Dad has a ‘shopping timer’ and begins to shut down once his timer goes off. (This is very similar to my theory of word-count, if you have ever heard me describe that. If not, I will detail it here soon.) Dad does not understand spending money on things such as 18 decorative pillows of all shapes and sizes for my bed, vases filled with fake dead reeds, or random knick-knacks. Dad needs a purpose for entering every store and thus does not like browsing or 'just looking' around. Dad is the epitome of efficiency in motion.

Me – I love rugs, and beautiful paintings with scripture on them, and fall-asleep comfortable couches, books, sharp knives, heavenly chaises, wooden Africa art, nice towels, and very few other things. I do not love random flower arrangements, knick-knacks, certain colors like puke-blue, and a few other things. I do not have many opinions, nor do I have a style; so all you sells representatives, quit asking. I mostly just want a comfortable bed, a comfortable couch and a comfortable chair to read a challenging, but refreshing book. Very few other things do I consider necessary or even wanted.

An aside: I have some strong convictions about money and how it should be used. I desire to be a good steward of what God has given me, so I question every purchase and ask whether it could be spent better elsewhere (missions, food, homeless, etc.). Needless to say, it was hard for me to spend money on some of these things. I had to convince myself that if I buy quality things now, then I would not have to spend money on myself like this in a very long time. (Thanks, Mark Zobeck!) Also, God created us to enjoy Him and His creation. Yes, these things are passing away and will burn. I also had to keep checking my heart, and will continue to have to, to see if I feel like I need these things. (Thanks, Austin Johnson!) So, I’m holding loosely everything in my hands, because it is a gift and blessing from God. If God wants to take them away to bring me closer to Him, He has every right to and I’ll praise Him. If He decides to let me keep them, I’ll use them for His glory and fame and not just my own. God has blessed us to be a blessing.

Taking an equal part of all three of these and throwing them together, you get a fun-filled weekend. God gave us a lot of grace, and we laughed a lot at each other to keep from being frustrated. Dad always says that  we show love in our family by making fun of each other and making tense situations lighter by joking around. Mom is even starting to catch on to this and will throw in a shot every now and then. This helps us keep a good perspective that everything is fading away and we are but grass, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire. This helps us to know that most things really do not matter all that much and should not be given the place of something ultimate.

All in all I found myself extremely thankful for what God has blessed me with; parents that love the Lord and have shown me what it looks like to love and serve.

God help me to be thankful when life is good and when it is difficult. Help me to be a blessing to others with the blessings that You have given me. Help me to hold loosely all things in my life and know that You, my Father, give good gifts.