A Bust! Well, by American Standards...

The dishwasher was supposed to go in this oddly blank spot where there are no cupboards. I thought it was a no-brainer! Well...there is a reason that spot is oddly blank. When my dad ripped away the wood to expose what we thought would be a hollow, perfect spot for the Whirlpool, we found an immediate layer of dry wall?! My dad, Dave, and I stood there perplexed wondering why there would be dry wall behind a cupboard? It didn't take us long to realize. You need to know how my kitchen is set up to completely understand the situation, but the basement stairs leading to our finished basement runs behind these cupboards. If my dad would have hacked his way through the dry wall, he would have burst through the wall above the stairwell. Not sure why we didn't previously realize this?! So we now have three choices: buy a portable, remodel the entire kitchen (which we plan to do eventually), or continue doing dishes "the old fashioned way"! Though remodeling the kitchen is a beautiful thought, I know it is not a financially responsible time. So our options have narrowed! This all became irrelevant when I took a moment in the laundry room to sulk over not being able to have a machine wash the food off of my plates and flatware. My sulking was abruptly interrupted with just how materialistic I was being. It just occurred to me, in the midst of almost welling up with tears over this whole thing, that I was allowing living in a society plagued by materialism to consume me. Women all over the world wash their dishes--some in flowing bodies of water--everyday! No, I obviously don't think there is anything wrong with having a dishwasher or any other modern convenience. That is not the point I am making. There are just some moments in life when I realize how much what I desire distracts me from what I have. May I never forget...

This is the prayer of my heart:
"I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." Phil. 4:11-12