Have you ever noticed that when you fix up one area of your home, the surrounding areas suddenly look really shabby?
We got new front doors a few weeks ago … and then everything on the porch looked shabby.
Even the doorbell.
I never noticed before how dirty and paint-splattered the doorbell was.
Now it really stuck out against the sleek black doors.
Does a shabby paint-splattered doorbell matter? In a world full of wars and violence and inequality … and hunger and disease and all kinds of other bad things … does my little doorbell really matter?
I was wondering that too when I sat down to write this post the first time. And the second and third time. I felt stuck. Honestly, it does seem a bit frivolous to me to be writing about something as insignificant as a doorbell when there are so many more important things in the world to be concerned about.
But here’s the thing …
This is my home. My teeny-tiny speck on this big planet. And the porch is the entryway to my home, the threshold that separates my family’s sacred space from the rest of the sometimes-scary world.
Yes. It matters.
Your sacred space matters too!
It matters when you come home from a winning Little League game where you made an amazing catch and got to wear the team’s Victory Chain.
And a cheerful, welcoming space is there to greet you.
It certainly matters when your team loses and you are mad about striking out in the last inning.
And a cheerful, welcoming space is there to greet you.
It matters for our kids. And it matters for us grown-ups too.
I’m starting to understand that my home is a reflection of my life.
How I tend to both of them matters.
My porch felt neglected and shabby. The paint-splattered doorbell, the mismatched doorknobs, the faded wreathes, the Halloween welcome mat in April. Here’s a “before” shot …
But I was so used to this space being that way, I didn’t even notice anymore let alone make any effort to make it nicer.
What other areas of my life am I neglecting that I don’t even notice anymore? And how can I tend to those areas better?
A Cheerful Welcoming Space
I spent last week sprucing up the porch. Sweeping, planting begonias, painting the ceiling black, new welcome mats. It didn’t take a lot of time and it didn’t cost a lot of money, but it made a big difference.
Yes, it looks better. But more importantly to me, it made a difference in how I feel whenever I pull into the driveway. It feels good to be home.
In a world full of all kinds of bad things, it’s nice to have a cheerful, welcoming space here to greet me.
Love,
Courtney
Follow me on Instagram @createahomeyoulove
Follow my adventures! New stories every week-ish.