There is a lot to unpack in this short passage from a new book, Cozy White Cottage. It’s funny I bought it at all, considering my utter lack of restraint with color. Perhaps the fact I do NOT have a white cottage but rather a larger, buttery toned, 90s era,Tuscan wonder drives home the author’s point exactly.
“Don’t go into debt trying to make your home like someone else’s, don’t make your family uncomfortable trying to mimic how someone else’s house functions when your family isn’t the same, and don’t let comparison ruin your view of your cozy home.”
There are so many ways to ruin our view and most of them are self-inflicted. It’s such a shame, given how fleeting our time and circumstances may be - for better and worse.
“Enjoy this season of life. Soon it will be gone, and whether the season is hard or easy street, it comes with important parts that teach us things we will one day miss. So stay in your season and embrace it.”
I don’t cut myself off from beautiful images or happy people when I am experiencing loss or lack or sadness. These things inspire me and remind me that beauty and goodness and harmony are just as true as trials. The trick is gratitude - for those who are in a peaceful season and who provide us respite (visual, spiritual, and physical) and for our own circumstances which are custom made for our personal growth, if we let them work in us to that end.
We are once again in a season of mending. We once again have a home that needs a lower level remodel. And bathroom refreshing. Bedroom paint and flooring. It’s been a year of rebuilding health and reestablishing relationships, laying new foundations. The advantage of all that upheaval is new vistas, new perspectives, new angles to consider.
