The story of my little house
It's been almost a year since this house has officially been mine and it's still crazy when I look back and see how everything fell into place.
When the lease on my apartment was up, I knew I couldn't handle apartment living anymore. I was sick of cheap apartment carpet, beige walls, and that musty hotel-like smell when I came home at the end of the day. And of course, I wanted a dog, which couldn't happen in my apartment. As much as I tried to nest, I just never felt settled. My apartment felt like an extended stay, never like home.
So I packed up my stuff and began a long (long) four months of living with my mom, with no direction where I was going. I looked at rent houses, lots of them. Most landlords didn't allow pets, and the rent was crazy expensive for falling-apart dumps.
After lots of searching, I found a roommate that seemed like a good-enough fit, then found a rent house that didn't meet all of my needs, but I really liked it. It was the first place I found that felt like it could be a fit. I turned in my application and started envisioning all of the things I could do with the place, my table would go here, my buffet could go there, that picture over the mantle. Then I got a call from my roommate; she was backing out.
I distinctly remember hitting a wall that day. All the frustration from months of searching with no direction came out in a full-on ugly cry. I was tired of living out of boxes. I just wanted a home. Was that too much to ask?
In all of this searching, I never once considered buying a house. Because buying required crazy down payments that I hadn't saved for. Buying is what people do when they're getting married or know what they're doing with their lives. One day I would be ready to buy a house, but not now. I'll take a rent house, thank you.
Time moved on and I found a roommate who was a better fit and we started searching again. Then one Saturday morning, I got on Facebook and saw some friends from church had posted their house was for sale. I scrolled through the pictures and it was darling. I knew these friends owned a few rent houses, so I emailed them and asked if they would perhaps be interested in renting instead of selling it. They replied and told me to come over.
I went right over and looked at the place. It was perfect, more than I could have hoped for. We agreed on a rent price and they would send the paperwork on Monday. That night, the husband emailed me and said he'd been crunching the numbers and thought I could buy the house if I was interested. I looked over his math and it was attainable, but not right away.
I should also mention that over the weekend, before they took the sale sign down, they literally had realtors knocking on their door. They could have easily sold this house. But they wanted to honor their agreement with me and said they really wanted me to have the house. Who does that, especially in a sellers' market?
So they agreed to a six month lease agreement with a plan for me to save money to buy the house. My roommate and I moved in and the six months were long and they were short. I loved this house, but I felt like I was dating it and I wanted to marry it. Then before I knew it, the deadline was here and I had saved just enough money.
Up until the closing day, I kept waiting for the bottom to fall out. But you know what? Everything fell right into place. I signed the papers and that little house that made my heart go pitter-patter was mine.
How everything happened with this house was very clearly God's provision for me, but it's so personal, specifically to me, I don't know how to explain it.
Basically, I felt like all of my twenties was a season of waiting, of plans not happening. I spent a decade feeling stuck and wondering if God had forgotten me. Of course, I knew he hadn't, but on the dark days, this is how I felt.
Yes, my motivation for finding a house was because I was tired of living in an apartment, but it was so much deeper than that. My heart was longing for a place to settle.
When the original rent house didn't work out, I remember being so upset.
And then I found my house.
And it was more than I had hoped for.
And then I bought it when I shouldn't have been able to.
I know it's just a house. But for me, after a long, weary season, this was God very specifically and personally telling me, "See? I do see you. And I do give you good gifts."
Sometimes I take walks in the evenings and ironically, pass that original rent house that wasn't for me. And I'm reminded of the Lord's goodness to me.
He truly gives us more than we can ask or imagine.
When the lease on my apartment was up, I knew I couldn't handle apartment living anymore. I was sick of cheap apartment carpet, beige walls, and that musty hotel-like smell when I came home at the end of the day. And of course, I wanted a dog, which couldn't happen in my apartment. As much as I tried to nest, I just never felt settled. My apartment felt like an extended stay, never like home.
So I packed up my stuff and began a long (long) four months of living with my mom, with no direction where I was going. I looked at rent houses, lots of them. Most landlords didn't allow pets, and the rent was crazy expensive for falling-apart dumps.
After lots of searching, I found a roommate that seemed like a good-enough fit, then found a rent house that didn't meet all of my needs, but I really liked it. It was the first place I found that felt like it could be a fit. I turned in my application and started envisioning all of the things I could do with the place, my table would go here, my buffet could go there, that picture over the mantle. Then I got a call from my roommate; she was backing out.
I distinctly remember hitting a wall that day. All the frustration from months of searching with no direction came out in a full-on ugly cry. I was tired of living out of boxes. I just wanted a home. Was that too much to ask?
In all of this searching, I never once considered buying a house. Because buying required crazy down payments that I hadn't saved for. Buying is what people do when they're getting married or know what they're doing with their lives. One day I would be ready to buy a house, but not now. I'll take a rent house, thank you.
Time moved on and I found a roommate who was a better fit and we started searching again. Then one Saturday morning, I got on Facebook and saw some friends from church had posted their house was for sale. I scrolled through the pictures and it was darling. I knew these friends owned a few rent houses, so I emailed them and asked if they would perhaps be interested in renting instead of selling it. They replied and told me to come over.
I went right over and looked at the place. It was perfect, more than I could have hoped for. We agreed on a rent price and they would send the paperwork on Monday. That night, the husband emailed me and said he'd been crunching the numbers and thought I could buy the house if I was interested. I looked over his math and it was attainable, but not right away.
I should also mention that over the weekend, before they took the sale sign down, they literally had realtors knocking on their door. They could have easily sold this house. But they wanted to honor their agreement with me and said they really wanted me to have the house. Who does that, especially in a sellers' market?
So they agreed to a six month lease agreement with a plan for me to save money to buy the house. My roommate and I moved in and the six months were long and they were short. I loved this house, but I felt like I was dating it and I wanted to marry it. Then before I knew it, the deadline was here and I had saved just enough money.
Up until the closing day, I kept waiting for the bottom to fall out. But you know what? Everything fell right into place. I signed the papers and that little house that made my heart go pitter-patter was mine.
How everything happened with this house was very clearly God's provision for me, but it's so personal, specifically to me, I don't know how to explain it.
Basically, I felt like all of my twenties was a season of waiting, of plans not happening. I spent a decade feeling stuck and wondering if God had forgotten me. Of course, I knew he hadn't, but on the dark days, this is how I felt.
Yes, my motivation for finding a house was because I was tired of living in an apartment, but it was so much deeper than that. My heart was longing for a place to settle.
When the original rent house didn't work out, I remember being so upset.
And then I found my house.
And it was more than I had hoped for.
And then I bought it when I shouldn't have been able to.
I know it's just a house. But for me, after a long, weary season, this was God very specifically and personally telling me, "See? I do see you. And I do give you good gifts."
Sometimes I take walks in the evenings and ironically, pass that original rent house that wasn't for me. And I'm reminded of the Lord's goodness to me.
He truly gives us more than we can ask or imagine.
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