Home Sweet Home

Job 37:14 “…stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God.”

Have you ever stood back in awe and watched things fall into place so perfectly you knew you had nothing to do with it?

Well, I have.

I guess you could call this a follow-up to my last Spiritually Speaking post, in regards to the thought that God gives us what we never even thought to ask for, knowing it is exactly what we need.

To try to cut this short, the preface is that the home I was residing in was being sold and I had less than 20 days to find another place. Rent or buy, I was open to either, so I asked the Lord to have His way.

Disclaimer: If this starts to sound like a list of snow-balling, miraculous events, that’s because it was.

On the Sunday before Memorial Day, my realtor sent me a listing of homes for sale that just hit the market. I went through the list and emailed her back about the four or five I was interested in looking at the next day.

Monday morning I received her call: All but one of the homes on that listing were already under contract.

“Okay,” I told her, a little disappointed that I could not see more on my day off. “I guess we’ll just go look at that one then…”

Hindsight now shows the Lord was narrowing my options down for me on purpose.

From the pictures, the home had looked fairly impressive. But I soon realized they really did not do it justice.

I loved it.

We put an offer on it for the full listing price, knowing we had to act quickly for such a nice home.

Wednesday evening after work my realtor called and told me there was another offer on the table…and they had offered above the listing price (I didn’t even think that was possible).

A little torn, and I’ll admit worried, I went to church that night and prayed earnestly. I finally committed it to the Lord saying, “If it’s not for me, then give this house to the other interested buyer; I want only Your best for me.”

After service I started up my phone and couldn’t believe my eyes. My realtor’s text read “You got the house!”

The inspections conducted that weekend bore a clean report, not surprisingly.

In the meantime, I moved my belongings into a storage shed–which just so happened to be less than a mile away from the new place.

The next problem to consider was where I would stay while I waited to close on the home, since the date to receive my keys wasn’t until June 30th. However, a family from church was going to be out of town during the month and graciously allowed me and my dog to camp out at their place when they were away.

Talk about perfect timing.

But about that closing date. My manager had already given me Friday, June 26th, off several months ago, knowing it was my birthday. One day while talking to my realtor I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask if we could get the closing date moved just a few days sooner, since I was scheduled for a three day weekend.

A few phone calls, stacks of signed papers, and days later, I was told I would have my keys the night of June 25th, just in time for my 25th birthday the following day.

Let me just take this moment to testify that God not only provides for our needs, but He even knows and cares about what we like. He knows the secret longings of our hearts more than we ever give our hearts a chance to hope in them.

Since this was going to be my first home, I was not expecting the latest and greatest for myself. I figured I would end up with something a little outdated that I would eventually, over time, be able to upgrade and make my own.

This place is equipped with aspects I have only ever dreamed of in the back of my mind. There’s a gas stove in the kitchen, and along with the other modern, stainless kitchen appliances, the washer and dryer were included in the sale of the home.

Everything, including roof and A/C unit, have been updated within the last four years. There are wood floors in both living areas, which just so happens to be my favorite. 

There is a big grassy backyard for Samson, complete with a covered, tiled patio where a ceiling fan and misters hang (not kidding).

Quite possibly the best part about all of this: I am now a ten minute drive from both work and church.

I’m still in awe, lost in the surreality of it all, and probably will be for some time. Two months ago, I had no idea that I would be moving into my first home the weekend of my birthday.

Please, don’t take ANY of this like I’m bragging, except that I’m bragging on the Lord. This isn’t a show-and-tell, “Look at all the neat stuff I got and you didn’t” type of moment. But so many people have been asking about the details, and I thought, why not share what God has done?

As Psalm 66:5 (KJV) states, “Come and see the works of God…”

I have said it before and now I’m saying it again: I have seen the hand of God. He did a short, quick, and wonderful work in the last 30 days.

Yes, I believe hard work and sincere prayer pay off, but at the end of the day it’s fun to just stand back, keep my hands off it, and watch God work. I’m learning that everything turns out better when He is in control, anyway.

He’s still Jehovah Jireh: my Provider.

P.S. If anyone needs a good realtor, just let me know 😉