Almost two months ago, Will and I decided to put our house on the market. Umm, yes, we did just move here almost two years ago. But one night as we sat talking, the topic of moving just kind of materialized. We are okay in our current situation- we have a lovely home, a nice sized lot, privacy, quiet, and a safe place for our children to play. We are close to I-40 and can zip into town when we need to. But we also would love to lower our mortgage payment and settle into a home that we want to be in forever. We prayed about it and felt it was a “go”, so contacted the agent we worked with last time and began the process of listing our home.
The day after we decided to list our house, I headed off to the grocery store with Asher. He had fallen asleep on the way there and was still asleep as I neared the store. Well, I did what any mom who is desperate for her child to get a good nap will do…I kept driving. Asher (at that point anyway) was not doing much sleeping thanks to the arrival of his top molars, so I chose to drive into a neighborhood a couple minutes down the road in order to see which houses were for sale and prolong his nap. I had been skimming the local real estate MLS and knew of a couple I wanted to drive by. Once in the neighborhood, I missed my turn and decided to find a driveway to use to turn around. I pulled into the random driveway and looked up. The house in front of me was charming and I looked a little closer. No for sale sign, but there were some papers posted on the door, and it was evident that it was likely empty due to the major overgrowth of the shrubs and the junk on one side of the driveway. Being the nosy curious person I am, I walked up to the front door and read the paperwork, then responded with a mixture of elation, hope, and sadness. The paperwork revealed that the home was in pre-foreclosure.
(I find it heartbreaking that foreclosures have become so common, and Will and I have both taken time to pray for the current homeowners, whatever their situation may be, since discovering their situation. That does not mean, however, that I would want to pass up the opportunity to own this house and restore it back to a lovingly cared for and special home.)
After reading the paperwork on the door and getting back into the van, Asher began to wake and we head to the store. The house stayed on my mind and I told Will about it when I got home. The next day after church, we drove by the house and Will’s reaction was like mine. We had both fallen in love with it.
The ironic thing is that this would normally not have been a style that would have caught my eye. It is part brick, which I usually am not a fan of, and it is not in the best of shape. The unattached garage definitely needs some work (meaning, a new roof) and we haven’t even seen the inside. But, it feels like home to us. I have never felt that way looking at a house before. And there is a part of me, the part of me that is passionate about renovation and design, that would love to find ourselves in a home that has character and that we can make our own. Our current home is quite beautiful, but it doesn’t strike the same chord in me.
Yes, I know. It is just a house ultimately. But Will and I are going to give it a shot and do our best to make it our own, God willing. And let me just say, becoming the owners of this home would be ONLY due to the Lord because 1) the number of obstacles in our way is quite remarkable, and 2) this is a home we could NEVER afford without it going into foreclosure AND without God’s hand in it.
So, I will be chronicling this adventure on the blog and whether our current home sells or not, and whether we get our true dream home or not, God gets all the glory. I have to remind myself daily (sometimes more!) that it is His will that matters, not mine. And the whole process, while it makes me so nervous that I feel sick in my stomach almost, is also quite exciting! It really reminds me of the Choose Your Own Adventure books I read when I was a kid. You know, if you want to continue in the home you live in, turn the page; if you want to move into a new home that will require a great deal of blood, sweat, and tears and make your realtor wonder if you are a little crazy, go to page 37.
Here’s to page 37!
Dancing in the Mundane 