A Tight Fit

Everyone has a list of must-haves when they are in the market for a home.  My list of must-haves included a garage, fenced backyard, and a tub that I could fit in.  I know…I know.  The tub probably threw you for a loop, but I am a lover of a good soak in the tub.  And if I was going to throw my hard-earned money into a home, I wanted to at least be able to soak and relax at the end of a long day at work.

My search for a home gave me access to the way that others live, and it was eye-opening.  Also eye opening was the fact that my big body was not going to be able to squeeze into most of these tubs.  Honestly, I was not just in the market for a home with a run of the mill tub.  I wanted a garden tub.  I have champagne tastes on a wine cooler budget okay.

My realtor called one day and said that he had found a cute little house.  Those were his exact words, and I love him for it.  I told him that we could look at it as soon as I left work that day.  We pulled up to a foreclosed home.  The lights to the home had been cut off.  He pulled out his flashlight so that we could see the inside of the home as we walked through.  The carpet was disgusting.  There was an axe mark in the front door.  The master bathroom had mold in the vanity.  The piece de resistance was the miniature tub in the master bathroom.  But I saw past the mess and envisioned the masterpiece that this home would be.  He was absolutely right.  It was cute.

The carpet was ripped out by the men in my family.  The walls were all repainted.  New flooring was placed throughout the home.  But I still did not have one of my must-haves.  That tub in the master bathroom was child’s play.  I could not rest until I had a tub that I could sink into after a long day.  My contractor told me that the tub that was currently in the bathroom was not a standard sized tub.  For some reason, they used a smaller sized tub when building the home.  A standard sized tub would be too long for the current space.  His solution was to tear down part of the wall between my bedroom and bathroom so that a standard tub would fit.

Listen, I had him explain it to me in several ways.  I had him to explain it several times.  I could not for the life of me imagine how he could make this happen without things looking extra crazy.  A garden tub was out and now I had to find a tub that would fit in this space AND fit my body.  A lesser shopper would have given up at this point.  However, I was a woman on a mission.  He gave me the measurement parameters, and I was off.

Let’s recall my champagne tastes on a beer budget, shall we?  Jesus was on my side and directed me to the right place.  I was able to secure a tub that would fit my body AND the space.  Installation took forever.  Throughout the process, it looked crazy…until it was complete.  This tub was not crazy.  It was EVERYTHING!  I happily soaked and celebrated the end of that harrowing process.

Every day, I get reminders of God’s goodness and His grace when we are going through processes.  While we are changing and becoming, life can be discouraging.  We have our eyes set on what we want, and nothing seems to be lining up…until it does.  Do not quit.  At the end, you will get to soak in all that God has for you.  #wepreach