My Content Heart was Born in the Kitchen

"...for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content." -Philippians 4:11

"Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have."
-Hebrews 13:5

"A little that a righteous man has is better than the riches of many wicked." -Psalm 37:16

"Now godliness with contentment is great gain." -1 Timothy 6:6

About six months before my husband and I began our life together as man and wife, he began preparing for our future by tearing apart the house he purchased. I mean literally, tearing apart, plaster, lathe, ceilings, floors, everything, down to the studs. All that was left of our future home was a skeleton and, of course, endless possibilities (at least as many as our budget would allow). My wonderful, creative, engineer, husband, reworked the whole layout of our quaint, 1904 farmhouse and opened up the floor plan beautifully! The master bedroom became the living room; the large living room became a bathroom and a second bedroom; the second bedroom became the kitchen, the kitchen became the master bedroom; and the laundry room became the master bathroom/closet. The only room in our whole house that remained in its original location was the dining room, and even it was modified.

Now that the background of our undertaking has been revealed, it may come as no surprise that "Mission Home" is not presently complete. Our house is quite livable, however and is even filled with many amenities that have only been seen as "necessary" in my own naive generation. But there was one aspect of the house, that before the wedding, I thought would not be near completion, and I would terribly long for- a kitchen. You see, I love to cook and I love to be in the kitchen, so knowing that I may not have an oven or a sink or a refrigerator or kitchen cabinets or a microwave for at least a year was somewhat disappointing, actually quite disappointing. No home cooked meals to eat with my hubby? No baking bread? No experimenting with new recipes? No kitchen? But still, I made the decision to be content with what I was given.

Our current kitchen setup


Well, we serve a God who cares for every aspect of our lives, and do you know what He did? He provided. Maybe not in any ways we may have anticipated, but the Lord provided all the same. A month before we were married, my husband attended a cabinet auction and brought home two cabinets (for five dollars a piece) that we were able to set up in the corner of our kitchen. Not long after that, a pastor friend and his wife told us that they were preparing to sell a large refrigerator, two pantry cabinets, and a counter top at a very affordable price. So in went the refrigerator, the pantry, and the counter top. A few weeks after the wedding, we bought (an extremely discounted) brand new, gas stove. It came out of a home my father-in-law had sold to an elderly lady who preferred to cook with an electric stove. This may have been the most exciting addition to our kitchen! Now we had everything except a kitchen sink, so we washed our dishes in the laundry tub that was serving as our bathroom sink until we could afford a "real" bathroom sink. When we did save up to by the "real" sink, we were able to move the laundry tub to the kitchen. Not only did we acquire all of this, but for Christmas, my husband's sisters gave us a microwave. Our kitchen had actually become a kitchen! Everything seemed so complete and I was so satisfied! So imagine my excitement a week ago when a friend of the family gave my husband and I cabinets and counter tops and when my husband's co-worker gave us a real kitchen sink! We were able to use two of the cabinets and the counter top (which had the perfect sized rectangular cutout) to set up our sink!


The new sink and cabinets


Do we have the perfect, Country Living, Better Homes and Gardens kitchen? No. But we do have a stove which allows me to prepare my husband's favorite foods, a refrigerator to store the ingredients and leftovers, counter tops on which to work (and experiment), a wonderful sink where I can clean up my messes, and plenty of space to store all of our dishes! It is perfect for us because it is what God provided! I will be fully satisfied with it because what the Lord has given us has magnified His name and demonstrated His love and power. In His awesome provision, God even made sure to provide the newest extra cabinets, leaving unused space for me to store the baby bottles that I just found out I will be needing in about nine months! Yes, we serve a very knowing, powerful, present, loving God!

~Jessica