Wednesday, June 8, 2016

House Sweet Home



I had prayed that morning, a rather ridiculous little prayer. "Lord, I know everything works out in your time, but your Word says to ask much, that my joy may be full..."

We couldn't find a house. The cabin was adorable and cozy, but finding a permanent place to live was still pretty high on the priority list. Obviously. But there was NOTHING that would work for us in Shingle Hollow. There just wasn't. 

I was suggesting, after supper one night, that maybe we should go drive around and look for "SALE" signs in front yards. Ethan's answer surprised me. He didn't feel like that was what we needed to do. Deep down, he had a peace that God already had this taken care of - some other way.

This surprised me, coming from my go-getter husband - his personality is that of an obstacle-smashing, way-making, there's-more-than-one-way-to-make-it-happen kind of thing. "Where there's a will, there's a way." Thankfully, He's also sensitive to Gods whispers in his heart.

But waiting is hard.

So here I was, praying again. "It doesn't have to be this way, but it would be REALLY nice if Ethan just called me today to tell me that He found the house."

It was a way-out-there kind of request, but - hey! A promise, is a promise.

I had errands to run in town, so off I went. Hours passed and afternoon came. I was just coming out of a little quilt shop when my phone rang. It was Ethan. 

Guess what. He wanted to tell me about a house that was up for auction - right in the area where we hoped to settle. Someone had called him (by "accident", as we later found out,) to let him know about it. 

Elated? Yes, I was.

He gave me directions and a brief description so I could check it out on my way home.

When I pulled up in the driveway,  I thought I had found the wrong house. Surely it wasn't this beautiful place. I snapped a picture with my phone and went home to confirm it with Ethan. 

Yup. That was the one.

After an official tour, we put in our bid and prayed for God's will.

We won. 

So then, it was a matter of getting the loan from the bank - which should have been easy, due to Ethan's carefully maintained credit score, and perfect record... But we found out that owning your own business brings extra scrutiny...and extra measures...and extra time...and so much faxing, signing, copying and calculating, that you really can't imagine the bank needing anything more than blood work from the lab.

And after all the paperwork was finally submitted, we heard...nothing.

So we waited.

And waited.

 And waited.

There were several times through all the waiting, that we were sure it couldn't possibly work out.
But then, there was a closing date! ...but the Bank didn't have exactly what they needed, yet.

And then there was ANOTHER closing date! ...But they still weren't ready.

 And then, there was one more. I was afraid to get excited; it had been seven, long months.

Finally, on the day before we were supposed to close, Ethan called me. He had checked  to make sure everything was set and ready for the next day. They told him there was no closing scheduled. "Sorry."

I got off the phone, and promptly knelt down on the kitchen floor to try the very last thing that could possibly work. I explained the whole situation to the Lord -  again, asking Him to make a way, if this really was His perfect will for us. 

I was in the middle of starting to explain just how long and hard this battle had been for us, when conviction jolted me. Something quiet and strong whispered in my heart -"The battle belongs to the Lord." 

And that was all.

When I got up from my knees, I knew that was true. He started this, He was the One who had brought us this far, and it was really never "us," this whole time. He knew the baby was coming, His will be done.

They called Ethan back a little later and told him that we would, indeed, be signing the next day.

To say we are thankful, is an understatement. To say we're in awe, is very accurate. It's amazing to serve a living God.

Now there's two months before our baby girl is born, and we're busy fixing up, and tearing out. It's exhausting. But the most happy, thankful version of the word that you could possibly imagine.

































3 comments:

Anonymous said...

So thankful that God has once again provided! It's not going to look like the same house when you get finished. Love all the pictures and can't wait to see it in person! Love you both and we're so happy for you!
~Mom

Cheye said...

So exciting!! God certainly works in mysterious ways! He is SO GOOD! And AWESOME! And every other amazing adjective you can put in there!

Elisabeth@Treasuring the Moments said...

What a sweet testimony of answered prayer. Hey, your mom is getting to see pics. I want to see too. :D Maybe Google+... remember that place you once used to visit? (smiles)