The Long (Drawn-Out, Never-Ending) Tale of Our New Home

I haven't written a blog post in an embarassingly long time. It's not for lack of trying. In fact, I was so certain I would have internet when we moved that I didn't even plan for NOT having internet. Honestly, I just assumed that there was internet EVERYWHERE. I mean, how could there not be internet 3 minutes down the road?

Anyway...

Long story short: life is unpredicatable. And sometimes a break from the World Wide Web is a necessity. Especially when you live in rural Oklahoma and you have to wait for AT&T to be in "your" area before you can actually use it.

Before I begin the long, drawn out, never-ending story of our first home-buying experience, I just want to say that God is so good to me. In all things. At all times. There is not a moment--not even one--where He wasn't or isn't concerned about my well-being or care. And, my friend, He feels the same way about you. You are loved so dearly by Him. So much so that He is more concerned about your needs than you are. This story is proof.

By the time you're finished reading this, you'll probably wonder if I'm crazy. But I can assure you that the following story is a true and real account of our journey to our new home.

And it all started after the Moore tornado.

I haven't lived in Oklahoma for that long. I'm going on 3 years in July. But I can tell you that when God created me, He always meant for me to end up here. I'm just grateful He didn't reveal His plan to me sooner than He did. I probably would have fought Him every step of the way. Because I was born and bred in the Sunshine state. Where it's always warm. And the weather is always predictable. And tornadoes are just some distant dream in another land. O.K. maybe I watched too much Wizard of Oz as a child. But that was my only experience with these beautifully tragic storms.

Now that I'm dealing with tornadoes, I've become somewhat awed by them. I mean, conditions have to be PERFECT for them to occur. Some cold front (or is it a warm front? I'm not sure) has to mix with a warm (possibly cold, I'm not a meterologist) front and then a bunch of twisting and turning happens and WHAM! a tornado touches down and unleashes its fury on Tornado Alley (and, sometimes, other parts of the world). I just happen to live on the outskirts of Tornado Alley. And have seen a wall cloud or two.

Sure, we could move. We could move to the coast line where there are endless threats of hurricanes. We could move north where snow happily sits on the roadside for 7 or 8 months out of the year. Or, we could return home to California and experience earthquakes (and ridiculous house prices). Wherever we choose to live, there will always be a natural disaster threat. It's why we bought a home with a storm shelter (PRAISE JESUS!).

After the Moore tornado (which I watched live on TV with tears streaming down my face), my husband decided that we needed to buy a home and put in a storm shelter. And I wholeheartedly agreed. We spent many weeks following concerned about our safety. And when a tornado touched down 7 miles south of us, we knew it was time.

So, I began searching and found a cute 2-bedroom house. It was central so I could continue to walk to Dollar Tree if the urge struck (which it rarely does). But there was a HUGE problem when we finally looked at the house. One room was flooded and destroyed from a rain storm. Disappointed, we set up a time with our Realtor to look at other houses.

We searched and searched. And finally found a home we really wanted to purchase. It was perfect, except it didn't have a storm shelter. We made an offer. They laughed at how low it was. We made another offer. They wanted significantly more. We decided to walk away because we felt the house was not worth what they wanted.

Two weeks later, the house next door was on the front page of the local paper. The occupants had been stealing video cameras, dvds and a myriad of other electronics. It was safe to say our decision to walk away was correct. Maily because we run a business where we are constantly handling expensive electronics before they go to customers. God faithfully steered our footsteps in another direction for our safety. The house sold one month later for the first offer we made. The offer the homeowner laughed at.

Soon after, we found a fixer-upper and immediately fell in love. It would need work but, then again, anything in our price range would need work. We made an offer. The bank that had it in a foreclosure sent it to auction mere hours after rejecting our offer. We told them we were interested in paying the full asking price. They declined. We hung our heads low as we continued on in our search. They sold it for $20,000 under our offer. Simply put: we're busy people. We didn't have the time to put into the house. Instead, it went to someone did have the time.

As we continued searching, a co-worker of my husband's asked if we would be interested in looking at his house. We agreed. Once again, we fell in love. Sort of. There was no garage and there was no storm shelter. But the house itself was lovely. And with the paperwork in hand, were devastated when his wife changed her mind. We held onto the hope for a few months that she would re-evaluate and then want to sell. It was at this time that I told my husband I just couldn't do it anymore. I was tired of getting my hopes up and then watching them fall. Besides, each house was better than the last. How in the world would we find something better?

I decided to take one last look on Zillow to see if there were any houses worth looking at. That's when I saw THE ONE. It was out of our price range, but I showed it to Kelly and he told me he wanted to look at it. Once I saw it, I knew we were going to live there. But I did my best not to let my hopes get too high. Instead, I just prayed. Without ceasing. For six months STRAIGHT.

I'm not joking.

I would wake up every morning and pray about it. I'd spend all day sending up little prayers, "If it's your will Lord..." and then petition for an hour before bed. And as I would fall asleep each night, I just knew that if it wasn't God's best for us, then He would lead us somewhere else.

When our offer was finally accepted in January, we were told we would have to wait another seven weeks to hear if the house was really ours. Seven weeks and one day later, we were told it would be ours in 28 days. Oh, and our interest rate as at an all-time low. I'm talking 3.7% here, people. It's a God thing. I'm telling you.

I packed. I literally packed everything. And as the day approached, I couldn't contain my excitement. 27 days after we were told the house would be ours, the bank that had it in a short sale accidentally let it slip into foreclosure. Our wait would be 11 days longer.

I don't know why God allowed us to wait an extra 11 days. Honestly, if I had to guess, I'd say He was testing me. He knew that I had come so far. I had put all of my hope and trust in Him. And I continued to do so. Because I know that God's timing is perfect. Whatever reason we had to wait exactly 11 days, I'm grateful for it. I'm grateful that God knows what He's doing. I'm grateful for patience. I'm grateful for the moments that are hard.

Most of all, I'm grateful God allowed us to buy a beautiful home.

Home Sweet Home

Every morning, my prayer is a little different. I no longer pray that God would allow us to get the house. Instead, I pray that God would allow us to use our home for His glory. That we may shelter the hurting and the aching. That we may welcome all in with open arms. That we may be a blessing to our neighbors.

It is my firm belief that if we do not use what God has given us well, He will give it to someone who will use it better.

11 months is a long time to wait for a home, but God led us to the perfect house. One with a storm shelter for safety, a 2-car garage for all of my husband's projects, and lots of open space for me to entertain all who enter.

Whatever rough journey you find yourself in today, remember that God's ways are different than yours. And so is His timing. Just pray, release and keep moving forward. God is good, my friend!

Jessica