Using those Assets, or Lack Thereof

The pumpkins, squashes, and watermelons labeled here are drawn according to their space now, not what they will take up once fully grown.  That diagram would look like Maleficent's thorn forest, complete with fire-breathing dragon. 

In the vein of necessity being the mother of invention (or laziness, according to my father), I am a firm believer that limited resources is the mother of creativity.  The diagram above is an example of this, in more than one way.  First, and most obviously, we do not have a whole lot of tenable garden space, as is evidenced here.  most of this area is overrun with weed-infested grass.  So, I reclaimed what I could and put pots on my porch to offer a little more gardening space.  The other reason is that I would prefer to have taken a photograph and labeled that, instead of spending an hour drawing squares and circles, but as it is still nearly 3 weeks until my birthday, I have no camera. 

This principle, I have discovered, also applies in other areas of life.  When my husband and I were dating, we set up very clear boundaries to help us keep our commitment to each other (and to God) to stay pure and not have sex before we got married.  This restriction, instead of squashing our desire and affection for each other, only seemed to magnify it, and we got VERY creative in discovering ways to communicate, relate, demonstrate affection, and get to know each other.  I daresay, besides establishing a history of trust between us, it also deepened our relationship faster than if we had chosen the other way, because we were forced to make the more lasting emotional, spiritual, and relational connections with each other long before we made physical and sexual ones. 

In fact, boundaries and being creative with resources seem to go well together in a lot of things.  For example, our finances.  Having a limited travel budget has not only helped us get out of debt much faster, but also has forced us to spend time planning outings and events in such a way as to save money while making the event fun for all involved.  And then I found out that research has indicated that people who plan their outings ahead usually wind up more satisfied with them than people who don't.  Apparently, the happy feelings from outings and trips start in the imagination, when you start planning. We've made some incredible memories staying with friends (rather than spending extra on hotel rooms) and having strange impromptu picnics in parking lots (rather than spending extra for theme park food).

So, what are some limitations that have forced you to get creative in your life?  What was the result?