The House

The house goes on the market in 48 hours! We are still very early in the application process but have determined that regardless where the IMB process takes us, we will sell our house and get 100% out of debt. We will then decide where life takes us. This is a lot of work. I have discovered that we have way too much stuff that we never use. What a waste it is that we have allowed our material things to accumulate this way. May we be better stewards with every penny we have not only through this process, but after - regardless where we land.

With the listing of the house comes a whole new set of issues. We are praying specifically that the house will sell this month and we can move on from this step - but wait, we don't have anywhere to move. We have no plan if the house sells immediately, but know that God has one. (If you are reading this some time long after the date of this process you need to remember we are listing our house for sale in the month of December right after the housing market totally fell apart - according to the realtor there are almost as many houses for sale that are either in foreclosure or close to it as there are houses for sale for other reasons. It is not the ideal time to be selling).

The realtor said to get it ready for showing we needed to replace the upstairs carpet and declutter. Carpet is set to be replaced Monday - for the past three years I have talked about replacing it, and now we are replacing it for someone else. Isn't life just odd sometimes? As for the clutter - the amount is ridiculous. For awhile I packed pondering each item as to where we might end up and if we would need it. The reality of the whole process became more and more real with each item that we packed up. Oh so many tears were shed. Now, I have a deadline and we are just packing.

I know the first time I drive up to a For Sale sign in the front yard will be hard. It's not that I am attached to the house, it is a reminder of what lies ahead. At times I can hardly wait, and at other times I begin to focus on the things in my life and I am sad. The lesson I am learning today is that I truly have to decide what drives my heart, is it a love for God or a love for people and things. I guess that is a battle that I will face for a long time.

With the sign also comes the public knowing we are moving. Scott says I should never play poker because I can't hide anything! We are trying to not tell the whole world that we have applied (we are still very early in the process), yet it is all over my face when someone wants to know why we are selling. I am trying to be wise in the process, but at times I'd like to throw all caution to the wind and tell the whole world. Guess I am also learning (sometimes the hard way) to let God control my mouth. Our pray is that we never lie to anyone in the process and yet we also use wisdom in our answers. That may be harder than selling all our wares and moving to a foreign country.

If you are reading this as it is posted, I ask that you join us in prayer for the sale of the house. Our prayer is that it is quick and the price is right. When we started the process I would have told you that if God wanted us to go to the mission field he would sell the house quickly, I would have seen it as a fleece. No longer, he has so confirmed that we are hearing what he wants us to do today that instead I look at the sale of the house as an indication of his time table and blessing on the commitment to become debt free. I don't need the fleece, I know that today I am sitting in the middle of his outstretched arms and sincerely pray that I remain there. There is no better place to be!