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Do you ever find yourself in a situation, know that it was God who directed you there, and yet the outcome doesn’t make sense? That’s happened to me plenty of times, yet none are clearer than what happened a couple of weekends ago.
My husband and I are looking for a place to buy, a house to call our own (sort of, after 30 years of payments to yon lending institution), and somewhere to plant roots. We’re also hoping to make this community a better place (read: we’re opting for a fixer-upper). Of course, “this community” may have a different connotation than what’s typically imagined: with few stipulations—square footage, and a mountain town with lots of pine trees no farther removed from Matt’s job—we get to explore houses off two major freeways and a smattering of smaller highways.
In that context, we saw an advert for a house closer to the other major freeway. We prayed about it and felt right checking it out. We also checked with our real estate agent, who confirmed it might be a good fit. So far, so good. We drove over to see it and, with the exception of a couple of things (cracked concrete in carport and the necessary replacement of a beam), it seemed good. In fact, we found it beautiful, in a multi-level, octagonal sort of way. It even had a windowed atrium, around which quite a few rooms were laid out; and backed up to Bureau of Land Management property, so we’d always have a beautiful tree-lined view past our back yard.
Still feeling good about it, we explored the exterior, peeked in some windows, and took plenty of pictures to share with our realtor, discussing when she could meet us to tour the inside. We checked out more of the neighborhood, had lunch at the deli in town, and thanked the Lord for the possibilities of owning that house. Ever the romantic dreamer, I immediately started thinking about things like furniture placement and paint color for the walls.
When we got home, we uploaded the pictures to Matt’s computer, studied each one and discussed them. As we did so, my husband—Mr. Practical!—started to have some concerns. Not good. Had to talk him out of them, try to convince him that this beautiful, weird house was perfect for a beautiful, weird couple such as ourselves. To no avail. The next morning, he said the cons might outweigh the pros, yet he would reserve judgment until we saw the inside.
Mid-morning, while Matt was at work, the realtor called. She was NOT willing to show us the inside. Why? She’d learned the house was not just being sold “as is”, it was also being sold “where is.” In other words, this thirty-five year old house was built way before many of the strict building codes were established in quaky California, and my “got to have this place!” dream home was in danger of sliding down the slope. In fact, the cracked concrete in the carport indicated this movement might already have begun.
So what happened? Had we not received confirmation from the Lord to drive to another town, an hour away, just to see this house? Yes. Obviously, He knew it was unsafe to live in before encouraging us to go. The Bible says He makes “known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is to come” (Isaiah 46:10, New International Version). Is it possibly unimportant to Him that a house remains where it was originally built, as opposed to crashing down and endangering the occupants? Not a chance!
Then, why did we get the nudge to go? First, I think it’s because we didn’t know that area well, and didn’t realize it is every bit as dry and hot as the valley we just moved from. That’s right: no pine trees. Second, if we hadn’t explored the environs, we might always be wondering if a house in that area would have been better for us than another one we might choose. Third, it was a delightful opportunity to capture photographs of a very inventive house and room layout. That’s always fun! Fourth, according to my mom, the Lord wanted us to sharpen our listening skills. Not that we don’t already sense His leading in our lives. Rather, He wanted to show us that wherever He might lead us, as long as we pay attention to Him, we’ll be safe. Not so much of a “you’re not listening to Me” as a “trust Me; I’ll take care of you.” Pretty cool, huh?
So, listen up! Explore your surroundings and all the possibilities around you. Then listen to the voices of wisdom speaking into your life. And always remember this: our Heavenly Father deeply cares about us! His Word states, “The steps of a [good] man are directed and established by the Lord when He delights in his way [and busies Himself with his every step]” (Psalm 37:23, The Amplified Bible).
all of Heaven’s best to you and yours,
Margret Boyd
Scribe of Heaven
(Matthew 13:51,52)
