The Mess is Why

My not-so-glamorous future seating area....

But, the mess is why.

The mess is why we are building a tiny house. 

One of several reasons, but a determining factor when deciding to build a tiny house.  As usual, I couldn't see everything very well ahead of time so I didn't SEE the mess or CONSIDER the mess when I cast my vote.  Nevertheless, I did take into consideration the therapeutic effects woodworking has on my husband.  I know he has an emotionally draining job which requires de-stressing at the end of the day.  I considered the impact working with wood, while pleasing his wife and providing a home for is family, would have on his emotional health.  

An entire family can be impacted by the emotional health of the husband.  Wives, when God said, "I will make him a helper suitable for him", He did not specify how we would be a helper.  Thankfully, we were given more directions later on: "Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord"; "But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything."  Many translations use the word submit in place of subject.  The definitions are very similar: submit - "to defer to or consent to abide by the opinion or authority of another" and subject - "to bring (someone or something) under (one's control or rule)" (Merriam-Webster online).  By speaking directly to wives, the writer is telling wives to subject themselves instead of being subjected by someone else.

When we subject ourselves to our husbands, we should be taking into consideration the impact our actions have on their mental, physical, spiritual and emotional health.  Some days, when my husband walks in the door after work, I can barely muster up a grimace to welcome him home.  I want to high-tail it out the door and not come back for a very long time.  I have had to train myself to smile (to the best of my abilities), put my rants on the back-burner (so hard on those really bad ones!), ask my husband how his day was and really listen.  

I'm listening to show I care but I am also listening for his needs.  Does he need me to just look and listen?  Does he need some quiet time?  Does he need to eat?  Does he need to do a therapeutic activity?

Listening, watching, considering and subjecting myself to my husband led me to the conclusion that building a tiny house would be a therapeutic activity.  

This therapeutic activity creates quite a mess.

If building the tiny house wasn't therapeutic, we wouldn't be doing it.

The mess is why.

I praise God for my husband's desire to also follow God's command and love his wife.  His love leads him to consider my health and with God's mercy we muddle through our bad days and praise God for good days.

Good days like the days my husband cleans up the mess...his love is why.