When David and I had lived in Orlando for a year, we began planning to purchase a house. We had gotten a feel for the area and knew approximately what area of town we wanted to be in, so we began the hunt.
We found a house that we liked pretty well. We put in an offer which was countered. We accepted the counter, if I remember correctly, and then began to figure out financing.
Well, long story short, what we thought was going to be a monetary gift from someone turned out to be the offer of a loan, and we knew we couldn’t swing it financially with the priorities we had. Our realtor tried to talk us into it, giving us all kinds of reasons why it would be good to make the sacrifices we would need to in order to make it work.
Thing is, we had been praying the whole time that if this wasn’t what God wanted for us, that He would make that clear. This seemed pretty clear. We could have pushed it and made it work–kind of like forcing a square peg into a round hole–but it never would have felt right.
Instead, we put the house hunt on hold and waited to see what God would do.
A couple of months later we were driving down the road we always traveled to get to work when we saw a construction trailer with a sign about new houses going into a brand new subdivision. The price range listed was within reason for us. We’d be able to build brand new and be in a new neighborhood with people all moving in at the same time as us. Boy, did this ever seem like an answer to prayer.
Preconstruction prices, close enough to the office that David could ride his bike, brand new house, large corner lot, something in common with all our neighbors, and a price we could afford.
All because we waited on God instead of pushing our own ignorant desires. We learned a big lesson in that season: Don’t settle for second best; wait for God’s clear provision.
Thankful today for:
163. Carrot juice
164. Rain
165. The smell of new construction
Compelled 