I shared two months ago that we were anxiously waiting to see what the Lord was going to work out as far as a place to live. He ended up providing all that we needed and so much more and here is the story.
We had given ourselves until July 15th to find a house to buy. If no houses came up by that deadline then we were going to switch gears and look for a house to rent. On July 1st I received a voicemail from my best friend telling me that she had been looking at the MLS listing and noticed a house that seemed to match our list of "wants" for a house. Derrick and I had been encouraged by others who knew our situation to write down a list of things that we wanted in a home for our family and then to pray for that house with those items to be provided. This was a hard struggle for Derrick and I because we felt like we were praying a selfish prayer. I know that the Lord is good and cares for His children but I also felt like I was worrying about little me when I know that there are plenty of people out there that are in need of so much more. After discussions with friends and being challenged with the book "The Fourth Dimension" that our small group was discussing, we decided to dive in and pray for this house that we had both been picturing. Our list was detailed and included some of the following: 1/2 acre with big yard in the back of the home, brick two story house, 3rd floor attic that could be finished into a play room, etc.
Anyways, I came home from the park with the boys and looked up the MLS number right away. I was shocked when I went through the pictures. The house was more than what we had been seeing in our price range and the price was great. It met all but 1 of our requirements and the requirement it didn't meet didn't seem to matter at that time. I was so excited and this was not like me. My attitude during our entire searching process was usually just bland about each house that came across. This was one that I really really wanted to see and didn't know if I could wait another day. Derrick arrived home from work and right away I had to show him the house. I was skeptical if he would be as excited about it and honestly thought that the one item that it didn't have, central air, would sway him away from it. I was wrong. I think he might have been more excited than me. I emailed and texted our good friend and real estate agent to let him know we wanted to see the house as soon as possible. The bad thing was that Derrick and I were getting ready to head to New York right after lunch to get away for our Anniversary and to spend the weekend with two of our friends. We knew that this meant we wouldn't get to see it until Tuesday since we were in New York until Sunday and the 4th of July was Monday. AHHH! We weren't sure if we would make it through the weekend but we did. While we were in New York, the mortgage company we had been working with sent me estimates of what our mortgage and closing costs would look like.
We arrived home on Sunday and the first thing that I HAD to do was check my email. My stomach dropped as the estimates for the monthly payment were higher than what I wanted us to spend each month. I knew we could do it but didn't want to be worrying about it if something went wrong. Derrick and I discussed it and at the end of the day I came to the decision that if this house was ours then the Lord would have to do something about the mortgage. He would have to either give me peace that he would make it work or he would have to lower the payment.
Tuesday morning arrived. We were set to see the house at noon. I went to work that morning and emailed our mortgage contact to see if there was anything we could do to change the monthly payments. By noon she had another alternative for us that would lower our monthly payments right into the range that I had hoped for. This was all in time to go see the house that we were hoping was for us!
To shorten the story, we went to see the house - LOVED it. Of course there were some other things that we wanted to work through before we gave an offer. We finally felt at peace about placing an offer, placed it and after some negotiations (that stressed me out), we reached an agreement!! We settled yesterday and are now the proud owners of a home that we can grow in as a family. The Lord is good all the time! Meet our new home....
I hope you are encouraged as we were. We are now encouraged to go after what we feel will be the next step for our family - ADOPTION. :)
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