I distinctly remember the day Dave took me and the boys for a walk over the grass field and up the rickety steps leading to the back door of an old farmhouse he had been asked to demolish. He pulled a key from his pocket and led us inside. I noticed the familiar gleam in his eye as he walked excitedly from room to room describing his vision: remove this wall, move the side door over here, replace that wall with windows, reconfigure the kitchen layout, replace the spiral staircase with a wooden one, and on and on. The project seemed immense. Yet, my affection for the old home was undeniable. It exuded character and hospitable charm.
This one walkthrough changed the course of our family’s life. We would eventually take that old home, pick it up and move it to the outskirts of our little town. We would restore it and build our life inside those four walls. It would become the place where we would welcome our two daughters miraculously into our family and then the place we would renovate and expand once more after we outgrew the four walls with the arrival our littlest man.
Had I known the long road of creating a home out of this old house when I first walked through it that day all those years ago, I think I may have been overwhelmed with all that was to come. But, on that day, it was just a simple tour of a house. That was all. Nothing more. Just one small step on what would be a very unexpected and beautiful road ahead.
Whatever seemingly insurmountable task you’re facing today, just remember: take it one step at a time. Don’t get overwhelmed with the big picture because, really, you never know what’s in store just down the road. For today, just focus on the next step on the path. And then the next. And the next. One step at a time.
Photo Credit: Scott Wood
