Saturday Celebrations: A God Moment
Thank you to Ruth Ayres for inviting others to share their celebrations. You can go to her site to read other celebrations and add your own.
This week has been incredible...incredibly hectic, incredibly chaotic, incredibly frustrating and incredibly happy. We were looking forward and at the same time dreading the house inspection on the house we were going to buy. We knew it was a fixer upper and we worried that it might be too much for what we wanted to do at this time. The inspector started at 10:00 that morning and didn't finish until 5:00 in the evening. With each new thing he found, our hopes were dashed just a bit more. Rewiring, roof work, brick work, septic system, pool...and those were the big things. There were even more little things that were wrong with the house, including not being able to get hot water out of the kitchen faucet because the handle bumped into the stone backsplash (I'm still trying to figure out how they washed their dishes). On Tuesday morning, we told our realtor that we wanted to terminate the contract. In that instant, I was relieved that we were not buying a money pit, and scared to death because we had to move in 13 days and we didn't know where we were going to go.
As I drove to school for Kindergarten testing on Tuesday morning, I said a little prayer.
Dear God, I know you have a plan for us. Could you just give me a little sign please, because I'm hanging on by a thread right now.
As each person at school asked me how things were going with the move, I held back tears and said we had a change of plans and needed to make new arrangements. I couldn't talk about it. I made an appointment to see a rental house for 7:00 pm and went on with my morning testing kindergarteners. They were a welcome reprieve from my worries as they shared their stories of summer fun.
At the end of the work day, I decided to drive out to the farmer's market in Plain City. I wanted to buy peaches but I also wanted the distraction of driving around for a bit. I couldn't face going home right then. After buying some produce, I thought I might drive by a house that I knew was for sale. I had seen it a couple of month before and had looked it up then. It was more than we wanted to spend, and I hadn't given it another thought. As I drove by, something made me stop and look it up again. I have never done that before (Keith does it all the time, but not me). I pulled over to the side of the road, typed the address into realtor.com and saw that the owners had lowered the price by $40,000.00 THAT MORNING! Was this my sign?
So, at 3:15, I'm texting my husband, asking him if we should take a look at it. (I had told him and our realtor that morning that I did not want to look at any more houses. We had to stop the madness and just find a place to rent). He wanted to see it, so I sent the following text to our realtor.
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He got an appointment for 5:00. Oh, I felt badly for those poor owners. It is no fun getting your house ready to show on short notice. I knew that from experience.
We arrived at 5:00 and walked into a house that immediately felt like home to us. It has everything I have always wanted in a house: Keith and I have always liked cape cods, we both like water and there's a little stream that runs through the backyard, it has a window by the kitchen sink so I can look out while I wash dishes, and there's a space for me to write (that's the bonus). Annie told us as we drove into the driveway that she could imagine bringing her children here to visit Grandma and Grandpa.
We put an offer on the house that night. I feel at peace with this decision: there are no lingering doubts like those I was feeling about the other house. The owners have been kind enough to let us use their garage to store boxes since there is a 12 day difference between our move from our current house to our move into the new house.
We feel very lucky to have found this house. I know it was more than luck though. I believe that God heard my prayer that morning and he guided me down M V High Rd. that Tuesday afternoon. I'm so looking forward to starting our life in our new home.
Do you have a similar experience that you'd like to share in the comments? If so, please do. I'd love to hear your story.
Since I've been participating in #clmooc this summer, I wanted to try using Zeega to tell my story digitally.
This week has been incredible...incredibly hectic, incredibly chaotic, incredibly frustrating and incredibly happy. We were looking forward and at the same time dreading the house inspection on the house we were going to buy. We knew it was a fixer upper and we worried that it might be too much for what we wanted to do at this time. The inspector started at 10:00 that morning and didn't finish until 5:00 in the evening. With each new thing he found, our hopes were dashed just a bit more. Rewiring, roof work, brick work, septic system, pool...and those were the big things. There were even more little things that were wrong with the house, including not being able to get hot water out of the kitchen faucet because the handle bumped into the stone backsplash (I'm still trying to figure out how they washed their dishes). On Tuesday morning, we told our realtor that we wanted to terminate the contract. In that instant, I was relieved that we were not buying a money pit, and scared to death because we had to move in 13 days and we didn't know where we were going to go.
As I drove to school for Kindergarten testing on Tuesday morning, I said a little prayer.
Dear God, I know you have a plan for us. Could you just give me a little sign please, because I'm hanging on by a thread right now.
As each person at school asked me how things were going with the move, I held back tears and said we had a change of plans and needed to make new arrangements. I couldn't talk about it. I made an appointment to see a rental house for 7:00 pm and went on with my morning testing kindergarteners. They were a welcome reprieve from my worries as they shared their stories of summer fun.
At the end of the work day, I decided to drive out to the farmer's market in Plain City. I wanted to buy peaches but I also wanted the distraction of driving around for a bit. I couldn't face going home right then. After buying some produce, I thought I might drive by a house that I knew was for sale. I had seen it a couple of month before and had looked it up then. It was more than we wanted to spend, and I hadn't given it another thought. As I drove by, something made me stop and look it up again. I have never done that before (Keith does it all the time, but not me). I pulled over to the side of the road, typed the address into realtor.com and saw that the owners had lowered the price by $40,000.00 THAT MORNING! Was this my sign?
So, at 3:15, I'm texting my husband, asking him if we should take a look at it. (I had told him and our realtor that morning that I did not want to look at any more houses. We had to stop the madness and just find a place to rent). He wanted to see it, so I sent the following text to our realtor.
He got an appointment for 5:00. Oh, I felt badly for those poor owners. It is no fun getting your house ready to show on short notice. I knew that from experience.
We arrived at 5:00 and walked into a house that immediately felt like home to us. It has everything I have always wanted in a house: Keith and I have always liked cape cods, we both like water and there's a little stream that runs through the backyard, it has a window by the kitchen sink so I can look out while I wash dishes, and there's a space for me to write (that's the bonus). Annie told us as we drove into the driveway that she could imagine bringing her children here to visit Grandma and Grandpa.
We put an offer on the house that night. I feel at peace with this decision: there are no lingering doubts like those I was feeling about the other house. The owners have been kind enough to let us use their garage to store boxes since there is a 12 day difference between our move from our current house to our move into the new house.
We feel very lucky to have found this house. I know it was more than luck though. I believe that God heard my prayer that morning and he guided me down M V High Rd. that Tuesday afternoon. I'm so looking forward to starting our life in our new home.
Do you have a similar experience that you'd like to share in the comments? If so, please do. I'd love to hear your story.
Since I've been participating in #clmooc this summer, I wanted to try using Zeega to tell my story digitally.
Thank you for sharing this story. I cried reading how God met your needs.
ReplyDeleteHe is so good.
He is indeed. Now, we'll see how He guides us in this new chapter of our lives. :)
DeleteWhat a wonderful story, Julie! Moving can be so stressful--so difficult to find the right house, and then so many things can still go wrong. Glad you've found the place that seems right for you--and it sounds lovely.
ReplyDeleteThank you Elisabeth. This place feels right for us.
DeletePlacing our trust in God is always the best choice. He led and you followed. So happy for you! Can't wait to visit :)
ReplyDelete'm so happy for you Julie. Some higher power certainly led you to get peaches, & not just hunger, I think! The house looks wonderful, & to have a stream is very special, & a specific room for you! I wasn't particularly looking, but knew I needed to move closer & pair down the "stuff", so one day, I was at the library near my school & near all the stores, etc., I thought, "I'll drive around here to look at this neighborhood." And there was my home (now) for sale. I bought it in a day. It was truly a blessing, to be close to Arvie, my husband, my work, & closer to my daughter too. Like you, I felt a little amazed that on "that" day, I chose to go to the library, & "that" time, I thought I'd drive another street out. Serendipity? I don't know, but it was great to have it happen. Happy for you, as I said earlier!
ReplyDeleteI am so happy for you that this happened. I understand your stress and worry and I was keeping my fingers crossed for you. This is the way God works when we are actively listening. I hope all goes well from here to your move.
ReplyDeleteGod works in "incredible" (to use your word!) ways doesn't He? I love hearing others' God moments. Your new house is going to be wonderful. And nice for them to let you store things. This was just meant to be! Good luck with the move!
ReplyDeleteJulie, at first I was so worried that you were in such a bind but was relieved that you called on the Lord to help solve the problem. We are truly blessed by His presence. May this house bring you many blessings. You found your summer serenity in this house. Would you like to reflect and write about one spot that brings you this serenity. I have the link to the information at http://beyondliteracylink.blogspot.com/2014/07/souvenir-from-reflect-with-me-summer.html.
ReplyDeleteMy link for Celebrate this week never appeared on Ruth's blog so I am including it here:
http://beyondliteracylink.blogspot.com/2014/08/celebrating-life-on-long-island.html
Thanks for the no worry song. Love it - right message for me.
Yay!!!! CONGRATULATIONS! God is good. :-)
ReplyDelete