God's Plan is a Wild Ride
I will never forget Beth Moore saying in her "The Inheritance" study, "people think following God is going to make life boring, and I say, if you are coming with my God, you better hold on because when He's the driver, it is going to be a wild ride" (paraphrased).
Almost three years ago, my husband and I had come to the end of our rope. He worked all the time, and when he wasn't at work he was doing yard work, cleaning the pool, or one of 100 other things that had to be done around our very high maintenance home. We spent some money on help here and there, but it was either spend all our money on help, or all our time doing it ourselves.
In March, 2014, we decided to list our house. A year later, after getting only a handful of showings, we dropped the price to what we had paid for it. A year and a half later, house in Stonegate still on the market; my husband found some land. I hadn't seen it, didn't really know where it was, and had already gone into great description of why we just couldn't afford it. A month later, upon landing in San Francisco to visit my sister and sister-in-law, he said, "I think I'm going to throw an offer on that land and see what happens". I know you've heard people say this, but until you experience it, you can only roll your eyes and nod your head-because you just don't buy it; but in that moment, I heard from the Holy Spirit in the most quiet, gentle whisper "God commands you to submit", and so I said, "okay, if this is really what you want and think we need, I submit". (Now, it is entirely possible that I felt like he could sense the fire within me, screaming, "you better NOT buy that land").
I fully expected (hoped) this offer to not fly, but the next day, sitting in Fisherman's Wharf at a sports bar, the offer was, in fact, accepted. ("Bartender another round or two...or five")
Our house, that had been on the market for over two and a half years without a single offer? Literally, one month after closing on this new property, we got our first and only offer. One month after that, we closed. Are you following me here??? Thirty months after listing our home, never getting the inkling of an offer, we bought land that we really could not afford, and then, one month after that our house sold.
My head kind of spins, and my heart flips, to think back at how tangible God's omnipresence has been . I didn't want to move again. This move, marks number 12 between the two of us over the past 16 years of being together. Moving into our Stonegate home was a dream come true, five years ago. A beautiful home, where we hosted some pretty awesome parties and get togethers. A gorgeous setting for family holidays and pictures. Private back yard... I did not want to move. Every time we showed the house, I think I was secretly happy when no offer came in. When we did finally get an offer, I went into total panic mode. I did not want to move. I did not want to abandon the home where I learned to be a mom. I did not want to leave the place where my children learned to walk. I did not want to move out into the middle of no where. I wasn't sure about giving up life in town for "country living". I did not want to condense my stuff into 1000 square foot of cedar cabins....
So, God's perfect timing wins again. After two years, we were losing hope, but my husband knew he had come across something we couldn't pass it up. He saw an opportunity that we couldn't allow our current situation to hold us back from. My heart was moved to trust, when my brain was screaming the opposite. When we stepped out in faith, God provided. It isn't perfectly beautiful. There are lots of silly things to complain about, but as I go over our new budget, as God's will for our family becomes visible to me, I know that this wild ride will be a wonderful time of our journey to look back and remember fondly. (That last sentence is not what goes through my mind on those cold, dark, rainy nights when I'm standing outside trying to unlock the gate to get into our property...but the Holy Spirit hasn't sent any gentle whispers on grace lately)
