Sacrifice Brings Forth the Blessings of Heaven

After 2 years and 2 months, raccoon/ possum encounters, 400 sq feet, no couch, and a locker for a shower in the drip castle or love shack; we are moving up in the world and moving into the duplex.  The thought of a family room with windows in it makes me smile every time I think about it.  However, looking at the past 2 years in our cramped quarters I wouldn't change a thing.  I remembers surveying the place before moving in and feeling overwhelmed by all the repairs we wanted to do and joking that we were doing nothing but putting a band-aid on a house that should be leveled. When I look back I hope I will always remember: putting out bowls to catch the dripping water coming into our house, having the dinner half way cooked when the propane would run out, ant invasions, extreme heat, huddling by the heater because it was the only place warm, the unsuccessful FHE treat when we cracked our counter top opening up the coconut trying to make pina coladas, storing countless kitchen items under our bed, finding a way to do P90X in our tiny space, never having the internet; but also the countless miraculous that have occurred.

The sacrifice of living in these humble circumstances has been small in comparison to the enormous blessing that have come from it.  The love shack as taken away the financial burden and made it possible to living in Los Angeles with both of us in graduate school.  We have saved an approximately $1,000/month (a very conservative number) living in the love shack which comes to a grand total of over $26,000 ($26,000 less of student loans no less).  We have learned it is not so much the house, but the people and love within it.  

I have grown to love my husband so much more and really get to know him within those crooked walls, I have grown so much as a person within this place, I have challenged myself, I have wept, I have rejoiced, I have been different than those around me for the first time, I have forgotten my own needs, I have witnessed miracles.  The lyrics from Praise to the Man have been resonating with me and I truly believe that "Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven." I believe that the Lord is waiting to shower us with blessing if we will but demonstrate our humility.


Here are some pictures as a tribute to the Love Shack

The bathroom is a testament that you don't need a lot of room between the sink and toilet

Sweet floating storage, I have become a greater climber

no, we haven't outgrown putting our bed on cinder blocks

oh, the tin locker