I looked on with glee as the team of three men struggled to install my new oven.
We were nearing the end of our home-building journey, as well as the end of a long season of camper living.
For the past 7 months, my husband and I, along with our 1-year-old and our 80 lb. golden retriever, had been squashed into an RV. This had been entirely by choice, as we had sold our first home and renovated this camper to live in (all while continuing to work on building our log cabin). We had spent day after day working as hard as we could to get our house done, while also trying to maintain some sense of normalcy.
It had not been easy, and I was looking forward to having an actual kitchen to work in again. The camper oven was quite tiny, had to be lit with a lighter and a match, and was admittedly quite a learning curve for me. For the last seven months, I had relied heavily on crockpot meals, and to be honest, I was over it.
So, yeah. Absolute glee.
By the end of that day, I had an oven! A brand-spankin’ new, shiny, ready-to-cook any meal I please, oven. Oh, boy.
We were still very much living camper life, but I told my husband it was high time we officially had our first meal in the new house. Although it seemed inconvenient at the time, I decided to drag my heavy Dutch oven out, give it a good scrub, and pull whatever I could find from the camper pantry to make a good ol’ fashioned pot of chili.
We grabbed some paper bowls that we had lying around, dusted off the dining room table, and sat and enjoyed our first official meal in our new (albeit still quite unfinished) home.
We have since shared many meals together in our home, but I continue to think about that first meal, that March night when we as a family of three shared a meal together.
Although there is nothing inherently special about a dusty dining room table and a pot of chili, we celebrated it like we were experiencing some kind of lavish 5-course meal. We took pictures and sent them to family, and even called my in-laws to tell them that we were officially eating our first meal in our new home.
It felt good because to us, sharing our first meal together in this new home meant that we were nearing the end of a weary season, like we could finally see the light at the end of the very long tunnel.
Over and over again I have found myself marveling at the fact that we survived that incredibly tough season. Not only survived it but maintained a sense of peace and direction while doing so! But that’s just it, right? As I have been reminded repeatedly over the past few years, one day at a time, God will give us the capacity for what we need.
“Give us this day our daily bread,” (Matt. 6:11, ESV)
When we walk as followers of Christ, we are renewed day by day. And then, before you know it, you are sitting around the dinner table once again, sharing a good meal, and marveling at the notion that you, in fact, did it!
Rachael writes about herself, “I’m a married mom of two living in the foothills of the Tennessee mountains. My husband and I have spent the past few years planting our roots and pursuing simple living, beginning with purchasing some land and starting to build our handcrafted log home.
My goal for simple living has been something I have always valued and craved, and as I’ve gotten older and started a family of my own, I have found my own ways to keep life simple, while still finding meaning. It seems the more I simplify, the more joy and beauty abound.
If you are someone who also finds yourself pursuing a slower, more intentional way of living, I’d love for you to stick around with me on this journey! I hope you find yourself learning new things and feeling inspired along the way.
If you’d like to follow along, you can always keep up with the latest yummy recipes, gardening projects, and simple living inspo over on the blog, Our Handcrafted Home. Be sure to also follow along with me on Pinterest, and on Instagram.”
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Do you have a story of your own to share? Check out this post to learn more about the heart behind the series and the link for submissions.
