So, my husband and I were blessed recently with a new home! After saving and searching for two years, we finally have a house. Here's the story in a nutshell.
Let me start off by saying waiting wasn't easy. I won't sugar coat it by saying it happened exactly when and how I wanted. But that's the beauty of our God, he makes us wait for His plan, for His timing. So He gets all the glory. That's just how He works.
My husband and I moved to North Carolina in 2011 for my husband's job. The budget was small, but my husband picked out the best apartment he could find. Complete with white cabinets just like I like em. :D Unfortunately, It wasn't long until I became.........discontent.
Mostly I just missed home.
My living conditions weren't really that bad and I should have been grateful.
But I quickly forgot what God had done getting us the job in the first place. Instead of thanking God, I began to compare my situation to others. "Other people have such nice houses in such nice places".
I started anxiously trying to save up money and began looking at homes in North Carolina. I hoped to buy a nice new house as soon as possible! During this time, I did begin to pray that God would prepare a beautiful home for us to raise our children. I cried out to Him and told Him my concerns, desires and hopes. I believe He gave me several verses and spoke to me directly during this time. I found Psalm 84:1-4.
"How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise!"
This verse comforted me. Even the birds find nests to raise their families. So how much more would God provide for us? His children. I knew there was a home out there for us. The line, "Blessed are those who dwell in YOUR house" really spoke to me. I knew that I wanted to live in the home that God had provided, that God had ordained. Why would I want to live in anything less? God also led me to Psalm 127:1.
"Unless the Lord builds the house,
the builders labor in vain."
I knew that a house purchased outside of God's timing and design, would be much less than ideal. Although I had faith, I was still impatient. We ended up putting a deposit down on a new home. Neither of us felt right about it. My husband had been encouraging me to "be patient", but I failed. The moment after we put the deposit down I felt very uneasy. The night before, I really feel like God had spoken to me through Proverbs 21:5.
"The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance,
but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty."
We backed out of purchasing the home, but we lost a little money in the process. If only I had listened to God sooner. But He was merciful and gracious to provide for us anyways. I started to yearn for home (California). Really, I had been yearning to return home the entire time I lived in North Carolina. It seemed so impossible to do this in a bad economy with "no jobs". I began to pray fervently that God would help us return home and that He would provide the right home. I prayed for a "miracle".
My husband applied to one job. He got it! An even better job. I felt God pulling me out of the darkness. We returned home. We began searching for a house right away.
After God's miracle of bringing us home, I was no longer discontent and anxious. I fully trusted God to find the perfect house in the perfect time. I knew he had His hand on the right house. When our real estate agent told us it would be difficult to qualify for any home, I told her, "God's in control. We will get a house." I was not worried one bit!
Within a month after arriving home I found out I was pregnant! Surprise and excitement. I still wasn't worried about a house ;-) At a time when couples like us were putting in 30 offers and not getting a home, we were approved after 5 offers. We weren't even the best offer! It was much better than we expected. Almost the entire house has tile floors and it has a pool! Even better than these material things is the story behind the house. The homeowners had to short sale it. We got to meet them and found out they were Christians. They run the marriage ministry at a local church in our area. They were sad to leave their home, but have been nothing but generous. They have been making repairs and trying to keep it clean for us. The husband and his two sons helped with all of the repairs we had to finish for the appraisal. They installed a closet door for us and repainted the outside of the house. Whenever we went to look at the house, they have been nothing but helpful and honest about everything that needs to be repaired or replaced. The husband has said things like, "God told me to leave this house in good condition for you".
God always seems to bring us Christians together in odd ways.
Looking back, I firmly believe that this is the house the Lord had for us. I believe he has great plans for the house. Even our realator and loan officer have commented on how "weird" everything has worked out. I just keep saying "God is making it work". Every little detail has been worked out without us even putting forth an effort. Even when we were short on money and were being encouraged to ask for "gift money", a buyers credit was miraculously given to us! We had more of this money than we could use. God has worked all things together for His good regarding our house. May we always use our home to glorify Him and further His kingdom. I only wish I had been more grateful and less discontent with the time I had in the apartment. Because looking back, it really went by fast. God just wanted me to trust Him.
Here's a picture of the front.
Our cute little pool.
Grateful.
