Let God Choose Your House (3)

I said we managed to sell our house with the beautiful house with a bad neighbour within a year. Since it is never straightforward, this involved getting a buyer, who then dropped out, marketing for months, getting some friends to nearly buy it, having an excited viewer put off by the neighbour, telling our friends not to buy it because of the neighbour, and eventually selling it to the original buyer for less than they originally offered.

In the meantime we had been looking for houses with six or more bedrooms. We found the one we wanted, just at the very top of our price range and a bit beyond. We could stretch to it. We viewed it on the first day that it came available, we were the first viewers, we placed our offer and had it provisionally accepted before the second viewers (who had been waiting their turn outside) came in. They placed a higher offer, and having already sold their own house they were in a position to move straightway. So we lost it.

What was God playing at? The perfect house, clearly destined for us, yet he let someone else in! We held on to it by faith. It would come back to us. This was a mistake – it did not come back to us. Our faith was tested again.

But then god’s plan revealed itself. My childless spinster aunt in London passed away, we sold her house and our share of the inheritance increased our budget by 45%!

We looked around a whole load more properties – much bigger and brighter, and eventually settled on one. Still waiting for our house to sell. Finally when it did sell we got cold feet on the one we wanted to buy – it was very posh but that won’t last long when you have kids. We looked at a few more, and found that for only a small amount more we would be in the next size bracket. This came to light with a whole hotel that was for sale, but unfortunately that already had an offer and they wouldn’t negotiate with us.

But then we found one in a better location closer to the town centre, close to our new church, close to the older children’s school bus stop, still close enough to the primary school, a short walk from all the shops etc. My wife still suffered arthritis, so these distances were good, but she was in remission and no longer needed the hospital visits.

The money from my Aunts inheritance arrived two days before we needed it to buy the house. God’s timing is perfect.

The house has two bedrooms in the attic, four on the main floor, and three or four (depending on what you count as a bedroom) in the basement. A room for each child and some spare.

What about damp? Well if you look close there are a few spots, but nothing beyond control.

What about neighbours? We live next to a pub, so no one complains about OUR noise or OUR parking!!!

And so, having allowed God to select our houses in the past, based on his criteria rather than our own, and having allowed God to say yes and no to the houses we liked, he has finally rewarded us with something that is much bigger than our wildest dreams.

Thank you, Lord Jesus!

Stories still to come before I catch up with the present:-

Financial crisis resolved
Changing churches
Victory over sin