Unicorn Tears and Avalanche Surprises

This past week has been what I call 'Project Demolition'. I'm moving into a house in the Fall with two other friends and the house, to say the least, was in need of a few-or a ton-of repairs that included painting, sanding floors, uninstalling appliances, and many more tasks, and every morning for the past seven days I and two dear friends of mine have arisen early to paint from 8:00 am until 1:00 pm, where we all would cease working to attend class, work, or teach vacation bible school. Then, yesterday my family traveled to College Station and all of us plus a few more friends of mine worked on the house from morning until late afternoon-and there's still quite a lot to be done, though the entire project has come such a long way and has been more than gratifying. Needless to say, by the end of last night I was ready for a much needed break. The exhaustion building up over the past week hit hard today and after church and lunch I decided to take a break from anything and everything manual labor related and spend time with the Lord and to rest.


Although my energy levels have been drained and at times my patient quota has been met, I wouldn't trade a second of this past week because the whole process has been a memorable one, indeed. Some of my favorite memories are:


1) Waltzing to Disney music with friends while painting the bedrooms a lovely 'Heirloom Lace' color


2) Eating donuts and drinking chocolate milk before a day of productivity, early in the morning


3) One of my helper friends, Tyler, having endless mishaps (dropping his iPhone in white paint, problems with household appliances, etc) and being able to laugh about it all afterwards


4) Planting roses in my first ever flower bed in the front yard with a dear friend of mine, Emma, and having good talks


5) Hearing my friend Emily whistle and looking over, seeing her immediately cease, and then both of us giggling-I think the paint was making us a little delusional at this point haha


6) Renaming all of the paint colors (i.e. 'Crab Bisque'-'Unicorn Tears', 'Castille'-'Avalanche Surprises', etc).


7) Seeing all of the guys at the house finding such pleasure in obliterating parts of the interior-Todd and Tyler ripping off baseboards and being so gratified at the success, Johny and Dave literally demolishing the bathtub with a hammer with earsplitting 'BOOMS'


8) Forgetting that another helper, Blobs, was in the same room as me and looking for her only to see a foot or a leg sticking out from a nook here and there because she was so intently painting the space


9) Playing worship music loudly and being filled with peace and productivity that comes only from the source of goodness Himself, God


10) Going through the best albums ever including adventure music, Christmas albums, Celtic songs, and more


11) Getting to see my family this past weekend and going to church with my sister, brother in law, and nephew, a sweet time of fellowship


12) Seeing the outcome of all of the productivity happening around me and appreciating the gift of creativity and seeing that as a reflection of the Creator; painting the house and making it a home must've been just a glimpse of how it was for God to breathe life into his beloved humans. When we finished a room or even a small aspect of the house it became more of a home-and more than that it was my home that will reflect my values and is marked by the colors I chose for it. God, when creating His loved ones in His image, must have that same feeling of creativity and ownership. We all belong to Him and are made to be how He wants us to be. When we choose to intentionally walk in love, His love, we are fulfilling our calling and being how He has made us to be. How beautiful that the Lord has given us the gift of creativity and productiveness to reflect His nature. How beautiful He is!