Did I Mention We Moved?

Another sleepless early morning--but that may be due to the fact that I slept a good portion of yesterday. I was exhausted yesterday, the day after Mom's memorial service, and the first day of not having to making arrangements and phone calls for the past week. As of this morning, it will have been one week since mom died. Hard to believe that it is a week already and that the service has come and gone. Then I realize that it has just been barely 2 weeks since we moved. So much can change in such a short amount of time

I know I mentioned a few times that I would fill everyone in on "the move", but haven't as of yet. So, I guess this is as good a time as any. I don't know if anyone is really interested, but really, more than anything, it is a testimony to God's faithfulness and care. With everything going on, He has sustained and strengthened me, and as I mentioned a post or two ago, I'm still walking around...I haven't crumbled in a heap on the floor. All I can say is, He is able, and I'm so thankful...'cause I'm surely not able on my own!

Oh, yes, the move. Let's see if I can make this not too boring...

At the end of last August, we moved into our friend's house the "S's". We had been renting a townhouse up to that point, our lease was up at the same time they bought a new house with some property and were wanting and able to move in at the end of August. They asked us if we would like to rent their house with the option to buy. Because of the timetable of things--their desire to move quickly and not have to have their house on the market for who-knows-how-long--we agreed to rent, but also did our due diligence so that if we wanted to buy the house, we knew we could, and so forth. We actually talked to mortgage guy, gave him all the numbers, etc., and were assured that "yes" we could buy the house if we wanted to.

We rented the house through to January as there were some financial goals and things we wanted to line up prior to purchasing the house. So we began the loan process the first of February. As you all know, the housing market changed drastically from August to January. The good news is that interest rates came down, but now, for some reason (even though our financial picture improved), we were told we couldn't qualify to buy their house, which was at a very reasonable and appropriate asking price for the neighborhood. A great "buy" really. Our mortgage guy told us we definitely could buy if we found something that was a little less in price.

Wow! We weren't expecting that curve ball. But, we decided to look at houses in the same area and found one right away that was in our price range, same schools for our kids and move-in ready. It was smaller than the "S's" house, but right in our budget and "comfortable". We really liked this new find. We made an offer, it was accepted and things were set to close by the end of February. Meanwhile, we had told the "S's" of our situation because we knew they needed/wanted to get the rental house sold as soon as possible if we weren't going to buy it. We were thinking we were going to be moving into this new little house, so we told the "S's" it was fine with us if they put the house on the market while we were there. We had the inspection on the property we were buying. We received a really bad report--WAY too many things needing fixing under the house, mold....you name it....bad situation, so we withdrew our offer.

We were now heading into the third week of February when the "S's" house we had been renting was actively on the market and we were scheduling "showings" with Realtors. We continued praying about what we should do. It was that same week we "happened" upon an area a few miles west of where we currently live. We hadn't thought about this area at first, but then realized it was the same school district --same high school-- that we're currently in. Having looked at a few houses out there, we hadn't found anything that was in the price range we wanted to stay in, or had the space we wanted/needed. Then we turned the corner into another neighborhood and there was a new housing development in its final phase. We actually went into the builder's office on site to ask them a question about a house in another neighborhood that we had looked at. While we waited to talk to the agent, he said we could walk through the model houses while he finished up with another couple that was there. We walked through the houses and really like the floor plans, but never really considering we could afford one of them. When we returned to the sales office we noticed signs and notices on the door and display boards announcing that the week prior, the builder had lowered the price of the houses by $25,000, with an additional buyer bonus as well. Because the market has been slow and most all houses have come down in price--new and old--they wanted to stimulate some movement and get the final phase built.

The wheels started turning. We walked through the model house again and looked at it with new eyes. After another 4 days, we claimed our lot, signed the papers, put earnest money down and it seems we're building a house! It is scheduled to be done sometime in July/August! The amazing part is--and this is what causes me to think that surely God has his fingerprints over all of this is--the house is nearly the same square footage as the "S's" house (not including the backyard), same number of bedrooms (4), same number of bathrooms (2.5) AND, we'll be paying nearly $50,000 less because it is a few miles further out! Isn't that just like God to do those kinds of things!?!

Now, fast forward another week to the last week in February. We found an apartment complex in our current neighborhood that will do short-term leases and accept pets. We knew we would need about 5-6 months, so we knew we had to move in March in order to do this. We put in an application at the apartments on March 1, we showed the "S's" house to a couple the next day on the 2nd, they made an offer that same day, and since they had already sold their house, they wanted to have keys by the 15th! We heard back from the apartment people saying we could move in any time, and they would pro-rate--and, oh yeah--the first month's rent is free on the unit we were renting....(jaw dropping open at this point). Again, if this wasn't the Lord paving the way...I don't know what was.

We decided to move that following weekend as Mom was quickly declining and we wanted to get settled as soon as possible. We also wanted to vacate the "S's" house as soon as we could so they could paint or do whatever else they wanted/needed to do. Everyone of our kids felt an excitement and anticipation in moving--clearly a God-thing--and we were all energized and enabled physically to get it done. We kept just the bare necessities with us in the apartment, and the rest of our household is being stored in an on-site garage. Amazingly everything fit into it--our washer and dryer, refrigerator, other miscellaneous furniture, dressers, etc. We finished moving the last things out of the house and into the apartment on the 10th, and Mom died on the 15th.

Okay, so I wasn't able to keep this story short and simple, but to do that would have cut short or minimized what God has been doing. Over and over again we have been assured that He is caring for us and providing. Oh, believe me, there have been many times over the past several weeks where I questioned God and wondered if he remembered that my mother was dying. But overwhelming me was the presence of peace. In fact, others wondered why we weren't falling apart more than we were. I certainly had my times of stress and being reduced to tears, but not crushed or hopeless, but rather, filled with hope because the circumstances seemed so out of my control--and were--that I could only hope and put my trust in the only one who could do anything about them--the Lord.

So, this early morning, as I sit in our apartment, I'm reminded once again of God's faithfulness. Through all of this--Mom dying/moving--if I have learned anything, it would be that I really don't know anything about God's plans and purposes. But I do know He will enable me to do what He calls me to do--or make a way so I can go where He asks me to go, and at the same time always assure me of His presence, his protection and provision. I often think of the verse in scripture that says 'today, don't say I will do this or that, but rather say, If the Lord wills it, I will do this or I will do that'. I don't know what He is doing for certain, and I'll admit there is a part of me that wonders if we'll really ever move into that new house, but I'm learning to hold my plans and hopes loosely, and instead hold on tighter to Him .

I read somewhere recently--and thought it was so accurate--"I may not understand God, but I trust him." So true for me.