Listening...

I'm always telling my children to listen.  "Pay attention and listen to me!  I'm trying to teach you something!"  Wow.  God is up there somewhere saying the same thing to me.  When we're down here in the trenches trying to figure out this thing called life, it's natural to want to take the bull by the horns and do things how we want to do them.  

I was determined we were going to move closer to my parents.  We were constantly getting calls from them asking we if we were going to be in town, because they needed help with a little project.  When gas prices skyrocketed, it was almost $10 in gas to make the trip to their house, so we began to add a visit to Grandma's house to our schedule when running errands.  We decided to take out a loan from our 401K account and do some needed repairs to get our house ready to sell.  With four kids underfoot and only one of them old enough to be helpful, the project backfired.  We weren't able to meet the goals we had set for ourselves and the town we lived in went from being the hot spot to buy, to being the last place to look.  We found ourselves facing foreclosure and our resources were tapped out.  I had found a home I had hoped to buy and knew our window was gone.  The home was in a picturesque residential neighborhood, four blocks from the elementary school and five minutes from my parents' house.  I envisioned leisurely strolls in the evening and walking the dog to escort the kids to and from school, bicycle rides to Grandma's house with the kids.  I was disappointed, but I knew another house would come along, so we plodded along, adjusting our deadlines and praying we would find a way to get everything done and sell our house quickly.  

I had emotionally detached myself from the house several years before.  It had sucked our savings account dry long before we decided to sell it.  The previous owner had used it as a rental property and knew nothing about repairs, so every handyman he had ever hired had ripped him off by doing shoddy work and painting over it.  I finally contacted a friend who was was a mortgage broker.  She ran our credit reports and told us that they would view a short-sale the same as a foreclosure.  She advised us to get out while we could.  It was a situation where we had to cut our losses before we ended up homeless.  I began the miserable search for a rental home.  With four children we needed at least a three bedroom home.  I pulled up the local property management association's website and there was the home I'd driven past at least once a month for the past year.  It would be available in 2 weeks.  I called the rental agency and scheduled an appointment.  She commented that she was surprised she hadn't had any interest in it, because the previous year she had 6 phone calls the first day it was listed.  I found 2-3 other houses that would be big enough and in the area we needed to be and made a list of addresses.  With four kids in tow, we met the leasing agent at the house the next day.  I worried when we pulled up in front because it looked small from the outside.  It was much larger on the inside and seemed to be an ideal layout for us.  I couldn't believe it.  I told her we were interested and were looking at two more and I would let her know later that day.  We drove past each of the other two and when we saw how run down looking they were, we called her back and told her we'd take it.  For a year I'd been praying for the chance to buy this house.  A few days later, I called to schedule a time to sign the lease and the phone number on the listing was incorrect.  I went to her website and found the correct number and realized that no one else had called because of the wrong number.  God's hand was definitely in this.  After she corrected the number there were numerous calls about the house.  


2 Timothy 1:12-14 That indeed is the reason why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know in whom my trust reposes, and I am confident that He has it in His power to keep what I have entrusted to Him safe until that day. (13)What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus.  (14)Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you--guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

The owners had been unable to sell it and decided to rent it out.  Perfect, because we were in no position to buy the house at this point.  We moved in and discovered a slow drain the master bathroom.  There was a leak in sink drain pipe in the main bath.  A month later the hot water heater quit working.  Fortunately we were renting and just had to call the leasing agent.  Another month went by and the hot water heater quit working again.  This time it was replaced.  I realized God knew that if we bought this house when I first became interested in it, we would have been straddled with repairs right away.  We were already strapped.  Now we can rent our dream house until we can establish our savings and repair our credit.  I was thrilled.  What an amazing opportunity God had blessed us with.  If I had done things my way, we would have missed out on our house.  My children are happy and despite the financial stress, my husband and I are happier than we've ever been.  It's amazing the difference being in the right home can make.  


On a side note:  If you are facing foreclosure on your home, don't despair.  Trust in God and pray and he will absolve your fears - He has a plan for you, don't give up.  I hate that our credit is tarnished, but God uses a different set of standards to judge us than the credit agencies do.  Renting isn't such a bad thing if you have a good landlord.  If something breaks, you call them and they fix it.  


There are definitely advantages to owning your own home: if you purchase it in your 30's with a 20 year mortgage, it will be paid off when you are in your 50's and if you continue to pay your mortgage payment to yourself in a separate savings account, once you retire you should have a good maintenance fund established.  Maintaining your home is important and you shouldn't buy one unless you are able to maintain it.