When renovating an old home there are ALWAYS surprises and design challenges that will come up during a renovation. Maybe a wall I had hoped to open up is hiding a pipe that would be too expensive to move or is load-bearing and my budget won’t support the size of beam it would require to open the space up completely without a support column. Sometimes there is an awkward space in the floor plan that I’m not sure what to do with or I discover the previous homeowner did not run the flooring under the cabinetry so I have to find money in my budget to replace all the flooring or come up with a creative solution to patch the missing flooring that was exposed in the redesign. When I was first starting out in this business, these surprises often seemed like insurmountable roadblocks and would leave me so discouraged. But over the years, I’ve discovered these challenges force me to think outside the box and come up with creative solutions that often result in some of my favorite features of the home. Here are a few examples from recent projects. At Ms Penny's Place, I was tasked to redesign the kitchen layout while utilizing as much of the old kitchen cabinets and countertops as possible. I went into the project assuming I would be able to use the countertops off of the desk we were eliminating on the expanded oven area. However, during the renovation, I discovered the depth of the desk countertops were not the same as the other countertops therefore my plan would not work. Rather than blowing the budget to replace all the countertops so they would all match, I simply replaced the area around the oven and turned it into a feature-the butcher block surround became one of my favorite features of the kitchen. And in my current flip project, I lost several nights of sleep trying to figure out what I could do with the tight space leading into the Jack and Jill bathroom. I had already taken the doors down to a minimum of 24”. Even with these narrow doors, I was still going to have an awkward trim situation with the door framed as close to the wall as possible. Because I could figure out no way around the awkward trim situation, I chose to highlight the awkwardness and make it a feature rather than try to hide it. Now this special door trim that is only found in this section of the home is my favorite design feature of this bathroom. As I’ve gained experience, the surprise challenges have not gone away, I have just shifted how I think and react to those challenges. I now see them as creative design opportunities versus insurmountable roadblocks. The Bible also talks about making a shift in how you think about challenges. In James 1 vs 2-4 Paul encourages believers to “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” Joy is not our first thought when life throws a trial our way. But, when we make a conscious decision to approach our trials knowing there is an opportunity to learn and grow, it is easier to find joy through the trial. Even when we can’t see how the surprise or challenge will work out in the end. And just think, the more difficult the challenge is, and the more impossible it seems in our own strength, the more Jesus has the opportunity to shine. This shift in mindset may not come naturally, but with practice, it does get easier. And the more often you trust Jesus to help you through your trials, the easier it becomes to trust him with the next one. Don’t be surprised if the solution God leads you to becomes one of your favorite parts of your story. If you enjoyed this inside look into the restoration process, you can see more videos like these at lifeword.org. I'll see you again soon as we begin another project on Storybook Homes.