One of the biggest obstacles you’ll need to overcome when you move to a new place is the feeling of it being “temporary”. It’s hard to actually grasp that you’re not passing through or on vacation.
A “temporary” mindset can be a huge obstacle.
That’s one of the drawbacks of renting. If you choose to rent (or are forced to do so), it can compound this problem. The renting mindset tells you that you’ll get serious about this place “later”.
Myquillin Smith- The Nester, author of The Nesting Place has this encouragement for you:
“Life doesn’t start when you buy a house.”
She also said this:
“I’ve realized something about myself and maybe you do it, too. I seem to always put the burden on my next house. Because the current house never seems to be ready. It never seems to be quite good enough. It doesn’t seem to have the potential that I’m sure my next house will have.”
Another author I love, Lisa-Jo Baker says this:
“I am not defined by my house. Neither the one that I don’t have nor the one that I don’t want. Home is the mess and the people who make that mess living inside.
So this current house and I? We’re on much better terms lately. Our relationship is going on three years now and we aren’t quite as shy about having guests over. I still can’t quite get up the desire to invest paint and elbow grease into this cramped place that may not look the better for it, but I do love how its smallness has been so full of big lessons.”
That place you live right now? That’s your house. It’s your house even if it’s temporary. Sometimes the things we that we think are temporary end up not being so temporary. This is your life right now. This season is what you have now. Make the most of it. Own it– even if you’re renting.