Excerpted and adapted with permission from “Capital Gaines: Smart Things I Learned Doing Stupid Stuff” (Thomas Nelson, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers) Copyright (c) 2017 Chip Gaines
In all of the wrestling that we did over whether or not we should stop doing Fixer Upper, the praying and seeking God, what really kept me up at night was wondering how leaving might affect all of these people, the people who risked going with us. We will forever be thankful to HGTV for taking a risk on us. Back when we began, that’s what we were—a big risk, pretty far outside the box of the “talent” they usually hired.
HGTV also provided us with a platform to share our perspective, and we are grateful for that too. In an industry that doesn’t often show authentically happy marriages, we have loved getting to go in front of the camera and laugh, hug, argue, collaborate, and cheer each other on. Getting to show people this version of marriage has truly been one of our favorite parts in all of this.
There will be new challenges to conquer and new facets of society to disrupt. And there may even be a show or two in our future.
For now, though, I’m committed to doing two things well—not three. Because in the end, if my family isn’t at its best and my marriage at its absolute strongest, then I will move mountains to make those things right. Jo and I need a break. We have been running this marathon together that never seems to end, and we need to take some time, catch our breaths, and focus on our family and our business.
It has been beautiful and wonderful, and our fifth, final season is our favorite yet. I know for sure that we’ve left it all out on the field, every bit of love and care we have to give to those homes and these families—we gave it all away.
There’s no question that the show was a miracle. From the very beginning, we have seen the hands of God all over it. But we are confident that it was never meant to be the end goal for us but rather a means to an end. We are attempting to impart something important and meaningful on the earth far beyond simply home decor or home renovations.
One of the things I’ve learned about God in my forty-two years is that He loves to obliterate the boxes we put Him in. There’s no way to predict the way He speaks to us or leads us. In this case, He spoke to me through a tweet, and in an instant I knew our miracle had served its purpose.
I have no clue what the future holds at this point. God surely has a few more surprises in store for us, yet I refuse to box Him up. I refuse to limit what our story might look like in the months and years to come. I can say no to everything the world offers. But any gift God has for me, I’m taking it.
