Our House Update

I guess I will start from the very beginning and try to give people a little bit of background information to lead us to where we are right now in our lives…here goes.

About 4 months ago my husband and I stumbled across a piece of property with lots of acreage, a roomy farmhouse, an amazing price, and a lot of work. It seemed like the kind of place we had always said we wanted. Sure, there were a few things about the property that would have been more ideal. However, we saw what we thought was the deal of a lifetime and tried to jump on it.

Meanwhile the home we have currently been in for around four years is in a very desired area of Mint Hill. We have a white porch that goes along the front of our home that is perfect for evening porch swings, or morning cups of coffee. We have a nice sized yard with plenty of trees for shade for the children and places to climb. We have the perfect amount of space to where we aren’t crammed but are the perfect kind of cozy. We are within a 30 minute drive from most of our family and our church. So what kind of crazy people would want to leave a place they loved so much? We thought we were.

From the beginning we have struggled with putting our house on the market. We prayed continually, and had a gazillion late night talks. After much consideration we decided to take the plunge and list our house on MLS. Tim’s mom Donna had just gotten her real estate license so it seemed as though the stars were aligning. To make things, “seem,” even more perfect the house we were placing our offer on was on the brink of foreclosure. We were happy to have the opportunity to keep a woman from loosing her childhood home. We were so excited to be taking such a big step until we pulled out of our driveway for our first showing. Every part of us wanted to grab those people by their shirts and not allow them to go in our home. We took the kids down the road to Wendy’s to grab a Frosty while they walked amongst our memories. The conversation we had that night was not fun. We were scared to death we were making the wrong decision and were driving ourselves crazy! Looking back I wish then we had listened to those uneasy feelings we were getting. We shrugged them off, knowing that it would be a hard process, and that we were just being too emotional.

To say things got harder from there would be an understatement. We prayed, read God’s word, and seeked council from anyone who would offer words of wisdom. In one way we were so excited to go on this new adventure we felt God was leading us, but the uneasiness never went away, and the peace never came. ( Well… I thought the peace came, but compared to what I feel now there is no comparison)

We faced one obstacle after another with the buyers of our home. It never ran smoothly from the time the offer came in. The first big upset came when just a few days prior to the closing they decided they needed to push the closing  back over two weeks. At this point the majority of our home was in a POD unit in our driveway. At that point our stress  levels hit an all time high. I really don’t mean to sound like we were getting upset over such petty stuff but when you’re in the middle of it, it consumes you. We had no choice but to hang in there until the contract was completely up, which was this past Wednesday on the 28th. We made things very clear that if the loan did not close on the 28th then we were through. They continued to reassure us the 28th was going to work multiple times. We were still a little nervous to get our last-minute belongings packed. Good thing we didn’t,  because two days before closing they wanted yet another extension.

At this point we had a HUGE decision to make. We were no longer obligated to them because the contract had run out. But did we really want to walk away only to unpack our stuff into a place we had just taken them out of?  As it urns out, yes we do! Now let me clarify, the decision was no easy one. Once again, after much prayer we together decided to stay in the home we fell in love with 4 years ago.

Once the decision was made the peace and relief that flowed into our hearts is indescribable. This is what we had both been searching for the entire time and thought we had until we felt this. If I can just be 100% real and honest right now. I have no idea why it took us so long to see the truth or why God had us walk through these obstacles. I do know that I am thankful for them and the bond this has strengthened in our marriage and our walk with God. Is it going to be easy to unpack that POD? Nope. But my confidence, hope, and trust in the Lord have all been restored and I’m ready to pick up the pieces of this messy torn apart house. One of the many things I have learned through this is that there is no way I can predict how God is going to work. I feel very convicted of trying to fit God in a box or put Him into my plans. He is sooo much bigger than that. Even though there may be nothing wrong with my plan, when I ask for His will to be done , it will. Simple as that. We stand humbled and grateful for all the prayers and well wishes we have gotten from everyone. As far as our dream house…Iv’e got it, and it’s the people who fill it up that make it the dream.