Many of you have been reading my blog and following the saga of the bathroom remodel. My friend Pam has also challenged me to do the picture a day thing on facebook this year...and so I am challenged to find pictures to post. One day I posted a picture of our new toilet.
This thing took two whole days of work to install because something just wasn't level and the toilet kept rocking. When Mike finally solved the problem, we geekily stood there arm in arm just admiring it like proud parents! We had to laugh at ourselves.
One of my church friends who follows me on facebook laughingly said "nice toilet" when she saw me the other day, and it spurred me to think about how many times I have equated God's blessings with something as simple and mundane as a toilet.
When I was a little girl, I lived in a family with seven people and only 1 1/2 bathrooms. We weren't really allowed to use the 1/2 bath except for in extreme emergencies because my father worked nights and slept during the day. The 1/2 bath was off of the master bedroom where he was sleeping. It seemed like anytime that I needed to go to the bathroom, it was already occupied. I can remember mostly fighting for time in the bathroom. My oldest sister has dry skin, and will to this day buy any product with "moist" or "moisturizer" in it. Back in the day my Mother and sister loved Avon's Skin So Soft and would load it on in their baths. I am allergic to Skin So Soft...and it is very hard to get out of the bathtub. So I would painstakingly clean the bath tub before I got in just to get the "moisture" out of the tub. I've been told that I can clean a bathtub better than anyone! Early training!
My older brother had hair longer than mine and it took some time for him to establish that 70s look that all of my friends used to find so cute. My younger brother would hang out in the bathtub smelling the life buoy soap in hopes that it would "Lift you up and not let you down." You can imagine how much time I spent "holding it" waiting in the hall for my turn.
Even though I had to wait,I was glad that we at least had a bathroom. My Grandmother lived in a home that did not have a working toilet. There was a bathroom in the house, but as long as I can remember it was broken, and we were not allowed to use it. We would all "hold it" as long as we could...and in extreme circumstances, we would have to go out behind the smoke house and use nature's facilities. I was never very good at holding my clothes and squatting and not getting anything on me. Plus....you were always afraid that someone was going to catch you with your pants down!
When I grew up and had children, even though we mostly had more than one bathroom, I again grew appreciative of just being able to have the bathroom alone to myself. It was rare when they were little. One time Mike took me out on a date night when Mandy was a baby and I went to the restroom by myself and remarked on how great it was. I can still remember the strange look that Mike gave me when he realized that when I had to go to the public restroom with two children, I couldn't just let them wander around, they went with me. I would hold Mandy while trying to maneuver my clothes, and have Michael turned around toward the door telling him "Don't touch! Germs!" One of our favorite children's books during that time was called "Five Minutes Peace" Where Mrs Lange is trying to teach her children to just give her 5 minutes of peace...but they all end up in the bathtub with her.
When we lived in Lansing, Kansas we had a home with three bathrooms! I finally got one all to myself! I can still remember what a great blessing that seemed to me. I was the only one who used the tub and so it was always clean. I never had to wait on anyone else. It was awesome. We lived there one year and then got orders for Germany.
Most of the stairwell housing in Germany only had one bathroom. I had been told that, and I was really dreading having to share with two girly girls who loved their primping time in the bathroom. Low and behold when we got housing, we lived in one of the few apartments that had 1 and 1/2 baths. Two toilets! Further confirmation that Jesus loves me! Seriously, I praised God over the blessing of having two!
When we moved to Hohenfels, we graduated to three lovely bathrooms. I have never taken it for granted. There are few things I hate more than having to wait my turn. And have you ever considered what a true blessing it is to have sanitation systems at all? We support a child in Columbia that doesn't have that luxury. Thank God for the "little" blessings that God gives us.
One of the dreams that I have always had is to have a nice bathroom with a jetted tub. I love to take nice hot baths and we have never had one. It was in the retirement house dream plan...but when we bought this house, it didn't come equipped with one. It has been in the dream project state for several years now, and we have finally gotten around to making it happen. So...in the next week or so, I believe the bathroom renovation will be done and I will have my nice bathroom. I am so grateful that God has given us the resources to have this nice place to live and not only just the necessities...but luxuries to enjoy. I am grateful for my husband who has the skills and the drive to make this happen...even though it isn't necessarily a priority for him...but just because he loves me. I will enjoy it every day, never take it for granted, and Praise God in the little things like a nice bathroom.
