Just wanted to say how AWESOME our God is. Thanks for the prayers. I looked at five houses yesterday (or earlier today if you count the fact that I'm posting this at midnight), and was disappointed that the only one I really liked (by number 4) was WAY out of town and my husband really didn't want to drive that far to work each day. So, we swung by to pick him up after he got off of work, and we all went (my mom, the kids, Kevin and I) to see the fifth house together. I was pretty deflated and not expecting much. I had already filled out the apartment application, and was resigned to do a six month "tour of duty" under the freeway bridge ten minutes from down-town in my little 2-bed cracker-box...
But, God had an "Ace in the Hole". We drove about seven minutes SW into a nice woody forest area and found a lovely neighborhood with older homes (probably built in the 1970's and 1980's... so they weren't THAT old). This house didn't look like much on the outside (ugly brown trim that needed painting and the landscaping was a bit neglected), but it had a lot to offer inside... including a formal dining room that we plan to convert to a school room (like we did in our last house). My realtor is wonderful. I'm excited to make an offer on the house tomorrow once my mortgage lady calls me with the details about closing costs and such.
I have to share what happened when I went in this house.... one of the first things I saw (besides the lovely red walls in the living room) was a beautiful white cross on the kitchen cabinet. On the wall was a pretty plaque with a Christian saying. In the living room on a bookshelf, there were at least 30 books and all of the titles I saw were Christian in nature. The family's photos were so happy, and although their children are grown now, they had photos of them in all stages of their life... they looked like such wonderfully well-adjusted people. They had a boy and a girl, like us, and they were about the same age difference as our kids. The son is who the realtor said lives there now (on occasion)... and he had index cards in the bathroom with verses from Corinthians on the bathroom counter behind the sink. I think they were memory verses. The floor plan reminded me of my husband's mom's house, only a bit smaller. They just recently lowered the price ten thousand dollars, also, so I am hopeful that they are wanting to move out quick! My mother and Kevin both said they loved the house and felt peace there... I was in tears once I left, because I felt like it was a HUG from God. I had prayed pretty hard last night about Him giving us direction and helping us figure out what to do.
I pray that we can get into this house with a really low payment and a seamless and brief closing! Thanks for keeping us in your prayers. Hopefully we'll be "Home Sweet Home" soon! I can't wait for "Thanksgiving Break" to be over and school to resume. I have already begun to find tons of interesting field trip ideas in this new state! It is a surprising adventure to be somewhere completely new.... but we still miss the familiar faces and places of Texas (and it will always be "deep in our hearts" until we can return). I better get some sleep... tomorrow is library day, contract day, meeting another local homeschool-mom day, and hopefully I'll have some GOOD news tomorrow night for my blog!
5 comments:
Congratulations! I wonder if the angels knew from keeping watch over the previous family in this house that this is a good, servicable home that really served them well and kept them safe and happy. Maybe they hope it will do as well for your family, being also people of the book. The house may need a little work, a little care and repair, maybe more than you think after you move in. But that just means it's a good house that needs some TLC, a diamond in the rough. God doesn't always give people what they want, but it's been my experience that He'll guide you to what you need. That was the way with my first house. We couldn't find any house that we could afford that didn't have MAJOR problems: cracked foundation, mold, cat urine, sinking at an angle into the earth, etc. When we were about to give up, a house turned up for exactly the amount we could afford that had nothing unfixable wrong with it and that was only 5 minutes from both our jobs. We could even take the bus. Now, we did have to build new stairs down to the basement, and the electricity was ungrounded (2 prong, not 3), and the sprinklers in the lawn were all broken, every single last one. My Dad fixed the stairs in a day. My co-worker had a electrician cousin who fixed the electricity in a week-end. I fixed the sprinkler with a few too many trips to the hardware store. And we were set! I couldn't have asked for better house, and yet, when all else failed I was led by the nose right to it.
Another thing: the garage door had a tendency to jump the track, especially when I was late for work. The first ad that caught my eye was for "Allison Entry Systems - ask for Al". On whim, I called him and it turned out he was more than available because business was slow. Al came by, did a great job on the garage door, and it turned out he was a Christian trying and sometimes having trouble supporting his family. A really nice man. Well, every so often my garage door would jump the track, and I'd call Al, and he'd fix it good as new, and I'd learn in the course of chatting while he did his thing on the garage that he was really glad I called because business had been slow. His repairs always worked perfectly for months and months with no wierd noises or behavior from the garage door, and then for no reason the thing would just fail. No one could tell me why. In retrospect, I sometimes wonder if the reason why was because Al, a really nice man and a Christian, needed some help, namely some paying work. And a certain somebody guided me to call Al first for help. And I always paid him upfront, cash if I could.
I guess the reason I'm telling you this is that home ownership is a lot of work, second I think only to raising kids. What's hard is maintaining your gratitude, your "thankfulness" for the home provided to you, especially when things go wrong. Especially when it causes personal inconvenience to you: makes you late, costs you money, startles you, etc. What I learned is that sometimes things break for a reason. So that you, a fortunate home-owner, can provide work for or buy parts from another believer and help them stay in the black. Kalil Gabran once said "A savage is hungry. He sees an apple in the tree. He plucks it and eats it. A civilized man is hungry. He buys an apple from the apple seller, who bought it from the man who plucked it from the tree." In that way, when one man is hungry, God provides for the needs of three.
IKE
P.S. Thanks to St. Jude for prayers answered. You helped me when it seemed no one else would.
I'm very excited for you. It sounds like God is at work from the details that you shared. I love seeing things fall into place, not because we're so deserving but because He is so gracious.
I will continue to pray about the financial aspects and the closing details. May God's peace overwhelm you as you move in His will.
Ike, thank you so much for the comment and story. That is neat about God caring for your garage man through those little annoyances.
Jan, you are a gem. :) Thank you for the prayers.
I look forward to posting with more details tonight...
Oh my goodness, I will keep y'all in my prayers! I am so excited and anxious for you, I hope you get this house!
Thanks for the prayers everyone. I appreciate it so much!
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