Bucking the Trend
Theme of the Week: Downsizing with Class
Sunday, December 4, 2005
 1 of 1
Who Said It …Cliff Denay
Clifford E. Denay Jr. is an outdoorsman who loves running, walking, hiking, bicycling, and kayaking with his wife Jane. They have camped and traveled regularly with their children Nathaniel and Emily, now young adults. Cliff teaches psychology at the community college in Petoskey, Michigan, and also provides its students with mental health counseling. He's involved in the leadership of his church. What He Said …Bucking the Trend
I had been out of the real estate market for 17 years. Recently I walked back in—and quickly discovered that you can't always have what you want. I'm not talking about affordability. Sure, cost is always an issue. But I'm talking about size—the restrictions that developers place on the size of dwellings. I examined the restrictions on the lot we were considering. The homes on either side were big. "This may not be the property for us," I told our realtor.
"Why not, Cliff?" she asked. "You said it's what you're looking for."
"The square footage requirement. It's too big."
"How big were you thinking," she asked.
"Small," I answered. "Smaller than you think." I sighed. My wife and I are clearly out of step with the times, but in step with Solomon who said, "have the wisdom to show restraint" (Proverbs 23:4, NIV). Neither of us believes that "trophy" homes are a good use of the earth's resources. It's hard to think small in a "super-sized" culture. Hard, but not impossible.
Copyright © 2005 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine. Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity. 1 of 1
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Lord, help me to hold my belongings loosely so that I'm not diverted from Your Kingdom priorities.
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