The Most Beautiful House in Tampa
The place was old and haunted looking- it gave everyone the chills. The giant house at the end of the block was built with dark wood, the yard was unkempt, and there was graffiti on the wooden gate made of the same dark wood as the house. This house wasn’t just your typical stay-away-from-me-I’m-haunted-house; it was Rosie’s new home.
When Rosie’s dad told her that they were moving into a fixer upper she imagined a house that would need a few weeds pulled, some carpet added, and a few paint jobs needed. She never imagined that her new home would look like this.
“Are you sure this is it, dad?” asked Rosie.
“Sure am! Just look at the Victorian architecture! It’s gorgeous, don’t you think so?” Both of Rosie’s parents were architects and they were always talking about how one house looked Victorian and another looked Spanish etc.
“Are you sure we have the time and ability to fix this house up?” asked Rosie. She really hoped she could talk her dad out of getting this house.
“I have to agree with Rosie,” said her mom.
“I’m not sure we have the time for this big of a project.”
“Come on you two! This is an adventure. We’re going to have a blast fixing up this old place.”
Rosie watched as her parents signed the forms to buy the house. She felt as if her parents had signed all of their lives to doom. When she got back home she went to her room and started packing up all of her clothes, books, and various sundry items into boxes. She could just imagine living in that big house. She wondered if there would be ghosts and secret passageways in her room.
The next day was a Saturday and she was going to go help her parents with fixing up the house. When they got there the sense of dread she had felt when her parents had signed the papers filled her again. Thoughts of ghosts and secret passages filled her mind again.
All morning she worked at pulling weeds and scrubbing graffiti.
“Are you sure this house is worth it, Dad?” asked Rosie.
“Of course, Rosie. Besides, we already signed the papers. Just watch, this house is going to go from scary to the most beautiful house in all of Tampa!”
After that Rosie stopped trying to convince her dad that the house was too much of a fixer upper. It was obvious that he loved the house and would live nowhere else. In Rosie’s opinion, even if they could fix the house up it wouldn’t be the most beautiful house in Tampa. To her, it would make even the top ten.
Except for the fact that the graffiti was not coming off, the work wasn’t too hard and thankfully, nothing abnormal happened. That is, till they went inside the house. The floor creaked horribly when Rosie stepped through the door.
“Just like a haunted house,” thought Rosie.
She stayed close to her mom as they made their way through each room, making a list of everything that needed to be done. Just then, she heard rustling sounds behind her.
“What was that?” asked Rosie worriedly.
“Probably just the wind,” her dad said.
She tried to forget about it. Then, the impossible happened. A ghostly white figure was in front of her. Rosie felt faint. It was impossible. How could a ghost appear right in front of her? Her mom was about to scream when her dad cupped his hand over her mouth.
“Come on you guys! You know ghosts aren’t real,” said Rosie’s dad.
“Then what is that?” asked Rosie.
“That was my plan to set you on the right track,” he replied.
“You see, I could tell you two were worried this house was haunted or something like that. I came in here and put a projector in so it would look like a ghost was in here. Come over here.”
Rosie and her mom followed him to where the “ghost” was. There was indeed a projector. They all burst into laughter.
“See, this house isn’t haunted. It is just a house that has been neglected. Now, are you two ready to turn this house into the most beautiful house in Tampa?”
After that Rosie didn’t complain about the house. She knew that if they worked at it, it would be a wonderful house to live in. That night during family devotions they read about how God chose David out of all of his brothers to be king, even though he was the smallest. Rosie’s dad loved illustrations so he used their new house for his example.
“If you think about it, that’s what you two were thinking of our house,” he said.
“You only payed attention to what was on the outside, how it looked. You should have been thinking of how it could be, what its potential was. It’s the same when we judge people. We shouldn’t only look at what’s on the outside but what is on the inside as well.”
As Rosie went to bed that night she thought about what her dad had said. She resolved to always try to not judge people on the outside but on the inside.
A couple months later Rosie and her family were living in their new house. They had finally managed to get the graffiti off the fence and do a few other much needed projects. The house looked great.
One day when Rosie was at school a girl she didn’t know came up to her.
“How did you and your family turn that old house at the end of the block to the most beautiful house in Tampa?” she asked.
Rosie smiled to herself. She thought for a moment and then came up with a great response.
“Well, we didn’t look at the outside but we saw its true potential. You know that’s kind of what God does when he sees us.”
“Who’s God?” she asked.
“Meet me in the hallway after lunch and I’ll tell you,” answered Rosie.
She never could have guessed that moving to Tampa into an old neglected house and turning it in to something beautiful would help her lead a girl to Christ.
When Rosie’s dad told her that they were moving into a fixer upper she imagined a house that would need a few weeds pulled, some carpet added, and a few paint jobs needed. She never imagined that her new home would look like this.
“Are you sure this is it, dad?” asked Rosie.
“Sure am! Just look at the Victorian architecture! It’s gorgeous, don’t you think so?” Both of Rosie’s parents were architects and they were always talking about how one house looked Victorian and another looked Spanish etc.
“Are you sure we have the time and ability to fix this house up?” asked Rosie. She really hoped she could talk her dad out of getting this house.
“I have to agree with Rosie,” said her mom.
“I’m not sure we have the time for this big of a project.”
“Come on you two! This is an adventure. We’re going to have a blast fixing up this old place.”
Rosie watched as her parents signed the forms to buy the house. She felt as if her parents had signed all of their lives to doom. When she got back home she went to her room and started packing up all of her clothes, books, and various sundry items into boxes. She could just imagine living in that big house. She wondered if there would be ghosts and secret passageways in her room.
The next day was a Saturday and she was going to go help her parents with fixing up the house. When they got there the sense of dread she had felt when her parents had signed the papers filled her again. Thoughts of ghosts and secret passages filled her mind again.
All morning she worked at pulling weeds and scrubbing graffiti.
“Are you sure this house is worth it, Dad?” asked Rosie.
“Of course, Rosie. Besides, we already signed the papers. Just watch, this house is going to go from scary to the most beautiful house in all of Tampa!”
After that Rosie stopped trying to convince her dad that the house was too much of a fixer upper. It was obvious that he loved the house and would live nowhere else. In Rosie’s opinion, even if they could fix the house up it wouldn’t be the most beautiful house in Tampa. To her, it would make even the top ten.
Except for the fact that the graffiti was not coming off, the work wasn’t too hard and thankfully, nothing abnormal happened. That is, till they went inside the house. The floor creaked horribly when Rosie stepped through the door.
“Just like a haunted house,” thought Rosie.
She stayed close to her mom as they made their way through each room, making a list of everything that needed to be done. Just then, she heard rustling sounds behind her.
“What was that?” asked Rosie worriedly.
“Probably just the wind,” her dad said.
She tried to forget about it. Then, the impossible happened. A ghostly white figure was in front of her. Rosie felt faint. It was impossible. How could a ghost appear right in front of her? Her mom was about to scream when her dad cupped his hand over her mouth.
“Come on you guys! You know ghosts aren’t real,” said Rosie’s dad.
“Then what is that?” asked Rosie.
“That was my plan to set you on the right track,” he replied.
“You see, I could tell you two were worried this house was haunted or something like that. I came in here and put a projector in so it would look like a ghost was in here. Come over here.”
Rosie and her mom followed him to where the “ghost” was. There was indeed a projector. They all burst into laughter.
“See, this house isn’t haunted. It is just a house that has been neglected. Now, are you two ready to turn this house into the most beautiful house in Tampa?”
After that Rosie didn’t complain about the house. She knew that if they worked at it, it would be a wonderful house to live in. That night during family devotions they read about how God chose David out of all of his brothers to be king, even though he was the smallest. Rosie’s dad loved illustrations so he used their new house for his example.
“If you think about it, that’s what you two were thinking of our house,” he said.
“You only payed attention to what was on the outside, how it looked. You should have been thinking of how it could be, what its potential was. It’s the same when we judge people. We shouldn’t only look at what’s on the outside but what is on the inside as well.”
As Rosie went to bed that night she thought about what her dad had said. She resolved to always try to not judge people on the outside but on the inside.
A couple months later Rosie and her family were living in their new house. They had finally managed to get the graffiti off the fence and do a few other much needed projects. The house looked great.
One day when Rosie was at school a girl she didn’t know came up to her.
“How did you and your family turn that old house at the end of the block to the most beautiful house in Tampa?” she asked.
Rosie smiled to herself. She thought for a moment and then came up with a great response.
“Well, we didn’t look at the outside but we saw its true potential. You know that’s kind of what God does when he sees us.”
“Who’s God?” she asked.
“Meet me in the hallway after lunch and I’ll tell you,” answered Rosie.
She never could have guessed that moving to Tampa into an old neglected house and turning it in to something beautiful would help her lead a girl to Christ.