Psalm 127:1 “Unless The Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.”

We are beginning an adventure we have never tried before. About three months ago a friend called and said, “I’ve found it.” He knew we were thinking to move back to the Birmingham area and were looking for a great house with about 5 acres of land. We also wanted a pool but knew that would be the whipped cream with a cherry on top. The biggest struggle was going to be that we needed all of that at a really low price. Our friend said we may could get some of that but it would take time.
We were raising a questioning eye brow when a few days later his text appeared. We set an appointment to see the house. To say it was a diamond in the rough would be a gross understatement!

It had a firm foundation, but the roof leaked and had caused some of the ceiling to come down. It had not been lived in for about 2 years and the once manicured yard looked more like a snake breeding ground. The pool side area was overgrown with weeds, vines of poison ivy, small trees, and the pool brimmed with growing things, algae, and frogs. As if these challenges were not enough, the inside had at least 2 rooms with Chinese sheetrock. That was like speaking a foreign language to us. Upon further study we found this sheetrock was used during the housing boom in 2004 to 2008 when the supply of sheetrock here in the US was limited. Katrina had just hit and especially the southern states were desperate for sheetrock. In their haste to come up with product, companies began to purchase sheetrock made in China. Unknown to them the sheetrock had been produced next to a sulfur mine. The sheetrock absorbed trace amounts of the sulfur. When placed into a home or building it emitted sulfuric gas. It affects all wiring, corrodes any copper, and can make people very sick. The house had been foreclosed on and could not be sold for fair market price because of the Chinese drywall. Our friend suggested we offer a low bid and see if the bank would take it. That would allow us to make the needed renovations and still stay within our budget. We went home praying and decided to make the offer. We knew that in order to get the house we would need to sell our home in Louisville, Kentucky so we made an appointment with a realtor. We place our house on the market and the next day it sold for much more than our asking price. Wow!!! We felt like that was God reminding us He had this! A month later we moved…well actually we packed all of our possessions and stored them to be retrieved when the house was ready. We expected God to act quickly since the house sold with haste, but that is were our story took some turns!

We have set up our house keeping at the home of our friend Cindy. She has been gracious to let us use her garage and a bed for when we are not traveling. God has been so good to keep us busy during our Meanwhile. For more than a month the bank gave no answer telling us they were moving forward, but with no decision. After two months and a few days we finally got a contract!!!!! The next step was financing and can I just say that is a MAZE OF CHAOS!!! It is all about having the right forms completed, having all the information and documentation. Because the bank had takes so long our first approval was no longer applicable so we had to complete the process again. It has certainly been a test of perseverance! But… the good news is this week we were approved and now we wait for a closing date.
God had already taught us so much during this process. Here are some of our lessons:
God has taught us to pray with open hands
Instead of holding on to this specific house we have prayed asking God, “If this is not the house you want us to have, we want Your Will more than this house.” Just because we want something doesn’t always make it His will. We knew if it wasn’t the right one, another would come along. Praying with our hands open instead of clinging to our wants, plans, and ways allowed us to receive God’s best for us.
God’s timing is perfect
Because we had to wait, interest rates had fallen!!! The company who will end of up financing the house allowed us to borrow the money for the house but also the improvements that will be made. That was huge!!! God has been so good!
God taught us to praise Him no matter what
The best lesson was to praise Him no matter what. The temptation through this process has been to worry. There are so many challenges and concerns that try to captivate our minds. In
2 Chronicles 20 God told His people to march out in praise because the battle was His. They saw a mighty route of an enemy army that day as they marched in obedience. We too marched in praise. We thanked God for what would be. Les even marched around the house seven times as he prayed and ended with a shout. He will have to write more about that. We have believed and praised God for who He is, His concern for us and our well being. Our praises have gone from the smallest thing to the largest. As we praised, the practice taught us that He was the treasure and in the end, if this house come to be ours it would be the bonus.
I have gotten long and we will write more about these later. Thank you for joining this journey. He is building so much more than a physical house. He is building us into a place for His glory to rest!