Fimiliar territory...unfamiliar result

Those of you who have been following me from the beginning know that we are living in a little house that my sweet Jesus has turned into our home. You can read the full story here. We bought this house almost five years ago in hopes of getting rich quick. That, of course, backfired as it sat on the market sucking us dry for three, long years until finally God put us in it. It's all a crazy story. I moved in kicking and screaming, but 18 months later I've become a little attached to the place.

We live in Saraland, a little town outside of Mobile, Alabama. It's at least a 30 minute drive to get anywhere, but it's just become normal. We have grown into a rhythm and our small floor plan works well for my little ones. In fact, I assumed we'd be here at least until Toby finished school in a few years. This past Christmas we had lots of family visiting and things were cramped, but we all made due. I was caught off guard when Toby came up behind me as I was working feverishly to entertain our family and whispered, "Next Christmas we'll be in a new house." What? What are you talking about. I actually like it here now. I'm not sure I want to move yet. The idea fell away as I was still convinced we were going to be here for at least another year. After all, we'd just put in new stainless appliances and a beautiful master shower.

During the month of January our church spent 21 days in prayer and fasting. On the first Monday of this season, Toby drove down to West Mobile for an hour of prayer before driving on to work. After leaving the chapel, it took him a beautiful 15 minutes to get to work...he was thrilled. He called me that morning, excited about the day we would move to West Mobile. I dismissed the thought with an absent minded, "Yeah, that will be nice." Toby's pattern continued all week...drive to West Mobile early in the morning, prayer for the people of Mobile, short drive to work. Each day his heart broke a little more for the people of West Mobile and each evening he came home more excited about what God was teaching him and showing him.

By the second week of prayer and fasting, Toby was convinced that it was time to move to West Mobile. Not completely sold on the idea, I agreed to pray over it and be open. After a few days I began to get a little excited myself...being close to our church, our friends, and Toby's work. It was definitely appealing, but a piece of me didn't want to leave our little house that I had come to love. At the end of the second week, I came to Toby with my response, "If it were up to me, we'd stay here. However, I know that you have spent countless hours with Jesus in the last two weeks, and as the head of our household, I will trust and support whatever decision you make." He was so sweet about controlling his excitement until he knew I was on board, and so we prayed through the weekend. From there, my Jesus took over at lightning speed...

Wednesday, January 25
We met with our realtor, Elaine, to list the house. We gave her pictures of my pretty house, signed the necessary paperwork, and prayed for God to be glorified through this process.

Friday, January 27
Our little house went live on MLS for all the world to see. Now we just wait...

Sunday, January 29
NOON - Our prayer for our house changed from "let it sell quickly" to "let it sell quickly to the perfect buyer." We envisioned "perfect" as a sweet family who loved Jesus, would take good care of our home, and would love on our neighbors.

2:30pm - On my way to the car I noticed a red mustang sitting in front of the house. It was an awkward moment...I see you, you see me, do I pretend you're not there?, you're not driving away...uh... So, being the nosy person that I am, I decided to walk over and say hello. After all, if I were looking for a house, I'd love a chance to chat with the owners. Inside this shiny, red mustang was a sweet, young couple. We'll call them Ben and Kristy. They had just gotten engaged the day before and were driving around looking at houses after church. Kristy commented on our South Coast Church sign in the yard and asked about our pastor...by name. Weird. She then told me that they were actively involved with a church here in Saraland and they knew our pastor's brother, who is on staff at their church. Huh, small world. They were clearly in love with each other and my Jesus and seemed interested in seeing more of the house.

5:30pm - We got a call from Elaine. Ben and Kristy wanted to see the inside!

Tuesday, January 31
I worked until after midnight the night before...cleaning, scrubbing and straightening. God had made it clear that my job in this season was to work on selling our house and I wanted to do it to the best of my ability. Two hours before our first showing I put apples sprinkled with cinnamon in the oven and oh how they smelled delicious! At 3:50 I loaded the kids in the car and off we went. At 5:00 we drove through the neighborhood, only to find that they were still touring our home and had called Ben's dad over to see the place. Elaine told me later that the first time Kristy walked onto my back patio and saw the inscription, she was sold. Our Jesus is so good! They stayed until after 6:00 and prayed with Elaine in the front yard before going home. They promised to call the next day.
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Toby and I checked our phones every ten minutes...willing it to ring. But Elaine didn't call. There was no word from Ben and Kristy. Honestly, I was bummed. But what are you going to do? You can't force somebody to love your house. We'd been here before. The real estate market is one of those things that we have no control over...only my Jesus does.

Another showing was scheduled for Saturday afternoon, but just a bit before their appointment the buyers cancelled. He had been called into work. The waiting continued...

Sunday, February 5
This is the two year anniversary of when God stopped us in our tracks and called us back to Mobile. A fork in the road for the rest of our days. If you haven't already, I hope you'll take a minute to read about that day here...it was amazing! We went to our Sunday service with an excitement and celebration over all that God had done in two years. We also thought it no coincidence that our house was in limbo again on this very day. He's so fun like that.

1:00pm - Elaine called and, as usual, my heart skipped a beat at the sight of her name on my caller ID. Another showing was scheduled for later that afternoon. Initially I thought it was the couple who had cancelled from the day before, but after making Elaine repeat herself three times I finally understood...it was Ben and Kristy! They wanted to see the house, "just one more time." Ahh, the excitement was crazy. Toby and I did a huge happy dance...and then promptly rushed home to pick up the toys, clothes, and dishes that were littered all over our house. Oh, and we baked some more apples...couldn't hurt. :)

6:00pm - Elaine calls again, "Where would you like to meet to discuss this offer?" NO WAY!! Jesus gave us an offer ON our two year anniversary of the fork in the road and after only one buyer and 10 days on the market! How big is He?!? He's bigger than the real estate market...that's for sure. So we met with Elaine that night, made a counter offer and went home floating in God's faithfulness.

Friday, February 10
Yes, FRIDAY! We heard nothing back all week and I was so frustrated and so anxious. Anyway, just after lunch Toby's phone finally rang. Ben had been really busy with work that week and extended another counter offer. Toby accepted it and it was done!! We had a contract!

The selling of our home is not only a blessing and answered prayer for me and Toby, but it's a beautiful blessing for Ben and Kristy and for our neighbors. We had prayed for God to give our house to someone who loves Him, someone who would continue to love on our neighbors and I know they will. Through this process my Jesus gave a sweet gift of confirmation to Kristy. During their second visit to our home, Kristy and Elaine were standing in the kitchen chatting. Kristy shared that they had set their wedding date for June and she's already picked out the flowers she would carry...white hydrangea. Elaine said, "You mean like those?" as she pointed to the fresh, cut flowers on my kitchen table. I love fresh flowers and made a special trip to Fresh Market to pick the perfect ones for my table. I debated between the hydrangea and a bouquet of mixed flowers. In the end, I remembered carrying white hydrangea in my wedding and thought that was special, so I went with them. Little did I know that my Jesus would use those same flowers as a sweet gift of love for our buyers...He cares about the little things and knows just how to speak to our hearts.

My sweet Jesus laid a move on our hearts and in a month our house was sold. We were forced to watch our house sit on the market for three, long years when we tried to sell it in our own strength and with our plan. But when God says, "Move" you better start packing! And packing we have started. Ben and Kristy want to close by the end of the month. Hooray! But wait...where are we going? We've got three weeks to find a house, close on it, pack, and move. We may be a little worried, but He's not pressed for time. I can't wait to tell you what He's got up His sleeve...