We had nothing planned yesterday. Oh, I guess there were a few things each of us thought we needed to do, but nothing set in stone, so that’s usually when we either go our separate ways to complete our own lists, or chuck them and go to a movie. Yesterday, however, found us with an absolutely perfect Sunday afternoon, with no humidity, mild temps and a light breeze.

THIS is what fall in Texas is (seldom, if ever) made of.

We were contemplating the afternoon from our rockers under the trees. I started off.

“I guess I could go in and get my grocery list together. I need to make a big trip.”

“Yeah, I actually need to catch up on some email.”

Silence. Total lack of movement.

Then Kevin…

“You know what we could do? We could finally go get all that stuff out of the storeroom so I could get the workout room put together. I know it’s only been a year and a half, but hey, it’s never too early for fitness.”

He’s hysterical.

This is normally when I would bypass making a list, and speed straight to the grocery store, but because yesterday was so perfect, and we could open up that musty storeroom to the weather and still kind of be outside, it actually seemed like a good idea. So, I said okay, and after he recovered from the realization that I wasn’t kidding, I set my phone to some 70’s classic rock and off we went.

We hadn’t been in the storeroom for a while. I had cleaned out the trash and reorganized it last fall, but it had gone no further. We started to pull some things out to help us remember what we had in there, and started designating what needed to go to the barn, the shed, or Goodwill. Frankly, I thought we’d used everything in the house that we could (hence its current location in storage), so I didn’t even start putting things aside for there. However, as we started to consider some of the furniture, Kevin said, “What if we put this little rolltop in our bedroom, and move what’s there into the closet for more storage?”

Hmmm. My wheels started turning…

“You know, that might work there. It might look more substantial. That wall’s never seemed complete to me.”

So we loaded up the small roll-top secretary and took it to the house.

It was perfect.

Then we moved the little chest that had been there into the closet, and because the painting that hung there no longer worked with the height of the new piece, we had to rehang it. That caused us to look for another piece in the house, which we found in the living room, and then we had to move something else to fill that spot. Not to mention the copious rearranging of other decorative items that ensued.

This domino-effect decorating went on for the rest of the day, until, while I was straightening up the house, Kevin had to go put a few things back in the storeroom for the night.

Or until we get another wild hair to clean it out.

Or get fit.

When we crawled into bed, Kevin said, “I loved today. I just loved working with you.”

“Honey, you work with me quite a bit now.”

“No, this is different. I love working with you at home, on our home…what we’ve built together.”

What we’ve built together.

More than a place to house our lives, but a refuge built by the intertwining of our lives.

A refuge for our hearts.

I grabbed his hand, and closed my eyes, thankful.

“Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.” Philippians 2:2 NLT

“And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” Colossians 3:14 ESV

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil.” Ecclesiastes 4:9 ESV