Soulful Reflections with Karen McPhail

Seeing the Potential, Having Faith, and Taking Action Leads to Powerful Transformation

There are moments in life when we stand before something that, on the surface, doesn’t look particularly promising. It may seem worn out, broken, overwhelming, or beyond repair. Most people see what is. But every once in a while, we’re invited to see what could be.

Because my husband and I are both visionaries, we tend to look beyond what something is today and imagine what it could become. Looking back now, I realize that way of seeing has shaped some of the biggest decisions of our lives.

As I write this from France, we’re nearing the completion of the first phase of renovating our 200+ year-old French farmhouse in the Burgundy wine region. The new French oak floors, crafted from trees in a nearby Burgundy forest, have just been installed, and with every finishing touch it’s becoming harder to remember what greeted us when we first fell in love with this place two years ago.

The truth is, we never even saw the house in person before we bought it.

Real Estate Listing
These were the pictures of our place in the online listing.

A dear friend walked through it with the realtor while we watched on Zoom from thousands of miles away. What appeared on the screen wasn’t exactly the picture most people dream about when they imagine owning a home in the French countryside.

There was no running water. No electricity. No working septic system. Not even a flushable toilet.

The main room, about twenty by twenty feet, was dominated by a sooty old wood-burning stove and filled with years of accumulated junk. Attached to one side was a rough cinderblock addition that was intended to become a kitchen and bathroom someday, but at the time it was little more than a shell. On the other side, through what looked like a doorway into another room, was a massive old barn with nothing but a dirt floor.

By most people’s standards, it looked like an impossible project.

But somehow, Doug and I saw something completely different.

We saw possibility.

Not because it already existed, but because we could envision what it might become.

Part of that confidence came from watching our dear friends, Marloes and Olav, lovingly restore their own centuries-old French farmhouse. Their journey showed us that with patience, perseverance, resources, and a great deal of hard work, remarkable transformation really was possible.

Still, we knew buying this property in another country would bring plenty of unknowns.

If I’m honest, that was part of the excitement.

The idea of stepping into a true adventure—one filled with uncertainty, learning, and discovery—felt incredibly alive.

Of course, vision alone didn’t renovate the house.

There were countless decisions to make, unexpected challenges to navigate, and moments when progress felt painfully slow. Every improvement required patience, trust, time, and yes...more than a few euros.

Transformation didn’t happen all at once.

It happened one decision, one repair, one floorboard, one wall, and one room at a time.

Our Original Steps to the House
These were the original steps leading to the house.

Our Porch Deck Today
We now have a beautiful porch deck with storage underneath.

The Renovation Journey

The toilet featured here was used with a bucket of water to "flush" through a pipe leading outside the house, as there was no plumbing or running water inside. We transformed this space by adding a dividing wall—one half became a laundry area with a washer/dryer combo, while the other half became part of our finished bathroom with a proper toilet.

The kitchen before renovation, followed by the stage where the electrical work was completed and the walls were finished with an organic cork plaster, allowing the centuries-old walls to "breathe."

Our finished kitchen. The dishwasher, refrigerator, and washer/dryer are all hidden behind what appear to be cupboards, preserving the farmhouse's character while adding modern convenience.

The bathroom taking shape during the renovation.

Our completed bathroom. We also have a beautiful back-lit mirror that will be mounted above the sink, adding the finishing touch.

Now, as I compare the before and after photographs, it’s almost impossible to believe it’s the same home.

And that’s when it struck me.

The most important part of transformation isn’t what you see at the end.

It’s what you’re willing to believe at the beginning.

You have to trust your vision before there’s any evidence that it will become reality. You have to give yourself permission to begin the journey long before you know how it will unfold.

I’ve come to believe that’s true of so much more than renovating an old French farmhouse.

It’s true of life.

How many dreams begin looking impossible? How many new chapters start with uncertainty instead of confidence? How often are we asked to take the first step before we have any proof that everything will work out?

When I look back over my own life, I can see that every meaningful experience began this way.

Saying yes to opportunities that came without guarantees.

Trusting quiet nudges that didn’t always make logical sense.

Believing something beautiful could emerge, even when I couldn’t yet see exactly how.

Transformation asks something of us.

It asks us to imagine.

It asks us to trust.

It asks us to keep moving forward, even when the finished picture feels far away.

In exactly thirty days, I’ll begin another journey as I walk more than 200 miles on the Camino from Porto, Portugal, to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

I have no doubt there will be moments that challenge me, stretch me, and transform me in ways I can’t yet imagine.

Just like renovating this house, I don’t know exactly what waits for me at the end of that pilgrimage.

But I’ve learned that the greatest gifts often aren’t found only at the destination.

They’re found in who we become along the way.

When I think back over my life, some of my biggest transformations all began with a single yes.

One of the biggest was saying yes to traveling to Paris by myself. If you’ve followed my story, you know that’s where I met my husband, Doug.

This summer, we celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary here in France, while staying in the very home that once existed only as a dream on a Zoom screen.

Life has a beautiful way of connecting dots we could never have planned ourselves.

As I look around this little home we’ve poured our hearts into, I realize it has become much more than a renovation project.

It has become a reminder that transformation begins long before we ever see the results.

It begins the moment we’re willing to believe in a possibility that others may not yet see.

Perhaps there is an area of your own life that feels unfinished right now.

Maybe you’re standing at the beginning of something that looks more like potential than promise.

If so, I hope you’ll remember this old French farmhouse.

I’ve found that when we’re willing to say yes to life, trust the vision placed in our hearts, and take the next faithful step, remarkable things begin to happen.

The dots connect.

Synchronicities appear.

Doors open.

And sometimes, what once seemed impossible quietly becomes the life you’re living.

Encouraging you to keep saying yes to life,

Karen

P.S. If you would like to follow and see what our friend Marloes and her husband Olav have done with their beautiful French farmhouse, you can follow them on their YouTube channels:

Marloes: https://www.youtube.com/@frenchcountrylife

Olav: https://www.youtube.com/@aandefranseslag

Continue Your Journey of Transformation

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