The View From My Window

"the window of my house"

Proverbs 7:6

Okay, so I made an interesting decor choice over the Christmas season.  And it led to an interesting realization.

I have a basic "regularity" when it comes to decorating my house.  Certain decorations always go in certain places, because that's where it makes sense, or that's the only place where it will fit.  It's a fairly small house, after all.

The nativity scene goes up on the piano where it will be safe from the cat (and the kids, when that mattered).  The ornament balls hang from the plate rail in the dining room.  The international Santas go on the mantel in the living room.  Et cetera.

But I also felt the urge to do something different this year.  So I looked at a few things online, and flipped through a few magazines looking for ideas.  {And I incorporated a few ideas I got from my sister's house last year!  Thanks, B!}

And one of the things I decided is that I wanted to swap out my curtain in the living room for something Christmassy.  So I looked through my Christmas fabrics, and found a couple pieces to incorporate into my decorating, but nothing big enough for a curtain. 

And then it occurred to me that I owned just what I needed ~ a tablecloth.  A red and green plaid tablecloth, hanging from the curtain rod, with a red and green ribbon cinching it during the day.  And it was perfect ~ just what I'd been picturing.

The only problem is, that I had a tablecloth in my home, being used as a curtain, albeit in a window that can't be seen from the front.  But not exactly Martha Stewart, you know what I mean?  Not that I have an inordinate amount of pride in my home, but my mother has set a very high standard.  Her home is beautifully decorated.  Not magazine-perfect, or too fancy to be comfortable, but she is creative in her design.  So I was afraid that using a tablecloth for a curtain would get a good-natured eye roll out of her.

But I brought it up anyway, joking about this silly solution I had found.  And my sister ~ also a bit of an aesthete ~ spoke up, telling me that she has a tablecloth performing the same function in her home. And then ~ get this ~ I walked upstairs to my mother's sewing room, and guess what I saw.  A tablecloth hanging in her window.  I realize I'd known it all along, but I'd completely forgotten it was there.

I was judging myself on the basis of my belief that I'd be judged by someone else ~ even good-naturedly.  I thought that someone in my life would not approve of something I had done.  How often does that happen to you?

There are things we do that we shouldn't do.  And hopefully there are people in our lives who will tell us so.  But there are also things we do that others tell us we shouldn't do, even though it's just their opinion.  It's important to know the difference. 

Give heed to the people in your life that you trust to hold you accountable.  Have friends who are wise, and go to them.  More than that, go to God.  Pray and read the Bible and ask Him for wisdom.  He promises to give that liberally, you know.  And when you do feel He has given you guidance, move ahead confidently.  Don't worry about what others think.

And even if it's just hanging a lovely tablecloth in your window for Christmas, be who you are.  He is your only Judge.

~ "For the Lord is our Judge,

 The Lord is our Lawgiver,

  The Lord is our King" ~

Isaiah 33:22

~