Traci Michele Photography

Photography

My Home Doesn’t Look Like Better Homes & Gardens

by

I flip through magazine pages that come alive with vibrant colors and Feng Shui dreaminess!  Everything is neat and in its place.  Colors dance across my eye palate and a warm coziness fills me to the brim. 

Then I look up… and around… and I get that gut wrenching jealousy in the pit of my stomach. 

Broken chips cover my floor.

Dishes are piled high.

Bathtub is filled with rubber duckies and soapy toys.

Beds are unmade.

Kids rub dirty hands on furniture and window panes.

Stains mark walls, floors, and ceilings.

And in one, sweeping, brief moment, jealousy scoops up my heart and throws itself into a heaping pile of covetousness!

I know that my home will never be perfect.  It will never match up to those magazine covers and HGTV remodeling shows! 

BUT…

What will my children and husband remember most about our home in 20 years?  I pray and hope that it will be these things:

1) It wasn’t perfect, but it was always cozy and inviting!

2) It was a safe place where love ruled, and forgiveness flourished!

3) It was a place my children felt comfortable bringing their friends over to. 

4) It was a place where gentle voices were spoken.

5)  It was a place where our family ate at the table together.

6)  It was a place where laughter echoed forth.

7)  It was a place where hugs, kisses and “I Love Yous” were given out freely.

8)  It was a place where the Word of God was opened liberally!

9)  It was a place where memories were made!

10) It was a place where contentment and thanksgiving abounded! 

“The richest person in the world is the one who realizes how much they can actually live without!”

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Comments

  1. I love this article!!!! Thank you for the reminder for those of use with homes that are sometimes more “lived in” than “picture lovely” at all times. We are creating memories…we want them to sweet and comfy ones. Needed this today thank you!!! 😀

    Blessings!

    Mary Joy

  2. So, so true!!! I do the same thing and then have to go down my checklist of the reasons I hope my children and husband love our home. As a matter of fact, I had to do it yesterday.

  3. I love this post!

    There is no way our home will look like those magazine, we live in a very small house with no closet, and bedrooms are so small that we can’t fit a dresser and a bed, is one or the other LOL

    But I learn,

    – that even if wall needs paint but money is not there a good washing will bring it back to life!

    – if you bedroom wall is torn down for renovation and it’s only been half fixed up for the past 3 years, a nice homemade colorful quilt will distract you from the wall to you bed.

    – That your kitchen table have tent,paint, burn spot on it’s all because of the love being share around it, meal, worship and school.

    But the best lesson I learn it taking care of a imperfect house, making it clean and welcoming is a blessing and so much fun!

  4. I know the feeling.

    I’ve also realised that even the nicest homes in the magazines are staged for the photos. Soemtimes there may not be much that needs doing but most times there is close to a makeover.

    Photos can make the mundane look glamorous when carefully composed.

    Most magazine photos look sterile, not places where you or I would want to live … home is full of heart.

    Blessings

  6. Thanks for this beautiful reminder. It’s not giving me permission to let me house go, but acknowledgement that I need not beat myself up because it isn’t perfect all the time. I can do more than I am, but I need to do more with the right motivation. Thanks!

  10. It is so wonderful to be thankful for all that we have!
    Would you consider linking up with Of Such is the Kingdom this week with a thankfulness post? Check it out! suchakingdom.blogspot.com

  11. I think most women could identify with this.

    I used to be one of those women that wouldn’t have people over unless the house was perfect. I would stress myself out trying to “entertain” so I never had any fun…Martha, Martha, Martha…

    And then I realized…anyone coming to my home knows that I have four small children. They know that life is hectic. They know that things get cluttered the moment they get cleaned. And they still like me anyway. Because if they didn’t like me, why are they coming to my home??? And thankfully my husband’s mess tolerance level is MUCH higher than mine so he thinks the house is always clean :-D.

    When my kids are gone, they won’t remember the messes, they will remember the fun times they had MAKING the messes. And vice versa–if I spent all my time cleaning, they would remember that the house was more important than a relationship with them. What is the legacy I want to leave my children?

  13. ‘Tis the season, sweet Traci. If it’s any consolation, my house sounds like your but I’m with you on the other stuff. I want it to be inviting and real – this doesn’t mean I won’t pick up for a guest but it won’t be “perfect” and it certainly won’t look like the Pottery Barn.

    I’m sorry I’m just now visiting after Relevant – things were a little nuts for a while. I love your idea about a vlog meme – would you be interested? Lindsey? Let’s chat!