Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Perfectly Imperfect

I found this photo on Houzz recently, and I was drawn to the paint colors that were used.
The way they flow from room to room even though the colors vary.
The white trim ties it all together beautifully.
These paint colors remind me of what we used in our Dear old House.
 
Contemporary Hall design by Burlington Architect Smith & Vansant Architects PC
(click on photo for Houzz post or on the architect information for that site.)
 
I have a story to tell you.
 
When we sold our DOH, it was on a lease-to-own agreement for 1 year.
To shorten this part of the story, it didn't work out, and we have the house back.
I really don't mind, because I wasn't done with it yet
and it wasn't done with us.
 
No, we haven't moved back nor will we, but we are doing a bit of sprucing up,
getting it ready to sell again. Lauren has been putting in countless hours of repair,
redoing and repainting. I have joined him when I can.
 
Last weekend, we were there and the sun was shining in to each room,
bringing the warmth and light that has always been one of the best features
of this house. I was painting doors with the traditional white paint that is used on all
 of the trim and doors, a job that can be a bit tedious, to be sure.
 
But as I was painting, noticing each little chip and scrape, the worn hinges and the patina of the brass doorknobs and plates, it came to me;
 
This old house is becoming
perfectly imperfect.
 
In the years we have had it, we did our best to revive it and give it back its personality,
removing that which did not belong in a 1908 house, at least as far as its basic design and layout. We made her into a warm, sunny home, and now we are finishing her the best we can. Lauren has repainted some rooms in the colors we had used, similar to the house in the photo above.
We changed a few colors to give her a fresh face in rooms that needed it.
 
I told Lauren that the house wasn't done with him, that it wanted him to put a few more finishing touches on her, to make her more 
 perfectly imperfect.
 
This Dear Old House is quite plain in her design, but the old hardwood floors,
wavy windows and wide trim and baseboards have a story we hope will always be told,
to a new family who sees her for the beauty she has.
 
One of my favorite Bible verses is Philippians 1:6; it is one of the first verses
God gave me when I came to Christ. It reminds me that I am not finished,
that he is not done with me yet, that He is continuing to do a good work in me
so that on the day Christ comes, I will be ready and complete.
 
Until then, I am perfectly imperfect.
As we all are.

… He who began a good work in you
will carry it on to completion
until the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:6
 

 
 
 

 

3 comments:

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

This is one of my husbands favorite verses too. A sweet post about becoming perfectly imperfect :)

Maryann said...

I too am perfectly imperfect but thankful that he continues to work on me and will continue to do so

Anonymous said...

Love these paint colors together. Your dear old house sounds so beautiful - I know it will find a wonderful new family to take care of it as lovingly as you have.
Happy weekend, Laurie!
Hugs,
Zuzu