When we first contemplated moving from our sweet home of 12 years, it was not a necessity. We were comfortable, though a little squeezed, in our other house. Three bedrooms for six people isn't unheard of. We were happy with our neighbors, and liked the proximity to many places we visited regularly. We walked to the library and park. Shopping was less than 1 mile away. I'd worked hard to plant zillions of bulbs and flowers there and I knew every inch of that one acre yard that I had mowed many, many times. We moved into our Helena house the same month Isaac came to live with my parents. So, all of our babies came home to us on Morningside Drive. So many sweet memories of grandparents visiting there, who are now gone. Thoughts of leaving that behind were more difficult than I imagined.
But, as our children aged, our oldest needed some more space of his own. Sharing a small room with two much younger brothers was NOT working. Other factors were weighed and we realized that it might be a good time to consider a move, though we just couldn't make ourselves do much more than look online at tons of listings. The thought of getting our home in shape to "show" to potential buyers just seemed too much. Keeping a home clean with four busy kids who are homeschooled, so always present, a husband who works nights and has to sleep many times during the day...I just couldn't imagine how it would work.
During all this mental pondering and tentative exploration, a dear friend of 8 years was going through her own struggles. Her marriage had ended in sad circumstances, despite her godly patience and example. She had three children to support and was now looking for a job, a good school system for her previously homeschooled family, and needing to move quickly since the house was going to her ex-husband. We had walked together through grief in our families the last year - so many loved ones lost in our family, while she grieved the loss of relationship and dreams and the family she'd committed to. At the same time we were praying for guidance regarding our possible move, this friend texted, asking for prayer, since she was looking for a place to rent. She needed to move in just a couple of months and had one near our neighborhood that she was considering.
I told her I'd keep my eyes open. When I told James, he said I should ask her if she'd consider our house. I didn't, and admitted I was scared. Did I really want to start that process with a friend - someone so special, who had hurt so much, and what if we somehow hurt her or there were problems? And, where were we going to find a house in such a short time? He encouraged me to pray about it and see if later I felt peaceful about offering to sell or rent it to her. He said confidently that he felt we should offer. I wasn't so confident yet, but agreed to pray about it. I honestly kept recalling the verse in James that says we are to "care for orphans and widows in their distress." Though not a widow, my friend was without a husband and leader, and she and her children really had been abandoned. They were not destitute, but she was distressed. I could not get over how simple the solution seemed but prayed that it was not a convenient answer, and truly God's will if this whole thing were to be considered. I prayed hard that she would be able to clearly say no if we were not to consider the agreement.
After a few more weeks, she told me the original house she had been interested in had fallen through. So, I breathed deeply, and texted back that we wanted to offer our home to consider, though there was absolutely no pressure. I explained my initial reservations, and how God had really not let it leave my mind since James first mentioned it. She responded, "Please give me specifics...and kleenex."
So, it began. We started looking for houses, and really, God dropped one in our laps. It was April 28, and we looked at a few homes we'd found online, one day after a devastating tornado had destroyed homes all over our state. One stood out among the rest, and we called to ask my Mom to come and see it too, just to be a wise, experienced set of eyes. Mom came down a few days later and agreed that it sure seemed like a wonderful home and we made an offer. We prayed and were so peaceful about moving forward within a week of seeing it for the first time. We wanted to make a low offer and though our realtor encouraged that, she warned us that if anyone else had a better offer, we would just miss out. Time was ticking. There was one counter offer by the seller, still under the asking price, and we had a contract.
Our realtor told us that we'd never get financing approved. Then we did within two days. She said we would probably not get to close in time. We closed early, within the month. She was amazed and really could not understand how it went so smoothly. I loved that we could say God did it all, and obviously He meant for this house to be ours.
We longed for a house with a little room, and God provided one with an abundance of space to live in.
We longed for a yard the kids could explore and run in, surrounded by woods. We have three acres of mostly wooded property, full of wildlife and wildflowers, native plants, and even a wet weather creek.
We wanted to be nearer to our church. We are several miles closer now, but still not too far from our former home and many friends.
My sweet friend and her kiddos have made our former home their own. They are content and settled and for now, it's a blessing to them. That has helped our transition so much, knowing someone we love is in the home we loved for so long. More sweet memories are being made. God is so good like that!
Even tonight, she and I visited and talked for a long time. Seeing how God has brought healing and hope to her family through a lot of yuck, just reminds me again how He sees the big picture and promises to help us through, when many times we can get focused on the current state of our messy lives. I'm so very proud of how she has embraced her new life, not because she chose it, but because she chooses to trust that her Father has her best in mind, and is guiding her through the hassle of dealing with unkind adults, raising children mostly alone, and searching for full-time employment. She has stretched and grown and is a blessing to know, now more than ever. It is really neat that her story gives me hope, when my days are long, because I know she has faced even harder and come out stronger. I love that this year agreement with a friend has turned into a relationship even deeper, that has given us more reason to chat and check in. What a bonus! I'm thankful for a husband who knew the right thing to do, and had the strength to lead us to offer so that both of our families could be blessed.
We thank the Lord for the year we've lived in our new house, and pray that we never place too much importance on the house, but honor the Giver of anything worthwhile in our lives. And, I'll stop here, before the next post about houses and provisions from God and how all this relates to a trip I just took...
1 comment:
Beautiful!
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