The Wrong House

On that note, from my previous "Job Offer" post, it is always good to find out what God wants you to do and do that.  Oh yes, that is the best way to live!  And, God had amazingly led us to the first house we bought.  He truly had.  I mean, we only looked at ONE house in Broken Arrow, and that was the one.  Then the Lord supernaturally brought in the money to buy that house, and we did.  It was all very smooth and easy.  Well, I guess besides move-in day, when the other owners hadn't started moving out yet!  Ha, ha!  But, really, it had been smooth and easy.

So, we were pretty naive to the actual process of buying a home.  We were also pretty naive about the Kansas City area.  And, Jeremy was living in a hotel in Lenexa, KS throughout the week.  I was at home with a new baby and a four-year old.  And, I was pregnant (Another story for another time!)!  So, we were ready to be settled in the Kansas City area.  The one thing we were very sure about was Olathe, KS.  We knew we were supposed to move to Olathe, so we did have that direction from the Lord.

Now, when we had bought the home in Broken Arrow, it was move-in ready.  Do you know what I mean?  We didn't have to do one thing to that house.  It was just ready to move on in.  And, we liked that quite a bit.  So, WE decided (and I do mean we, and not the Lord) we should find a house just like that in Olathe, KS, a house that was move-in ready.  I cannot even remember how many houses we looked at, and we really didn't like any of them that much.

We looked at one house that was definitely not move-in ready, but we liked the floor plan of that house so much.  I still remember that floor plan, and it was perfect!  But, it needed a new air conditioning and heating unit.  It needed siding.  And, it needed carpet.  Other than that, it was in pretty good shape, but the thought of a house needing all that work intimidated Jeremy and me.  So, every time we would think about that house, which was often, we would go through our list of negatives about that house, and decide we definitely wouldn't buy that one.  Even though we liked it.  Even though the neighborhood was perfect.  Even though, if we had been listening to the Lord, we would have.

No, instead we bought a different house that was about a mile away from the other one.  The house we bought was move-in ready, just like we wanted.  But, I didn't like the floor plan at all.  And, it only had three bedrooms, which I also didn't like.  And, it had a huge backyard, which we didn't like either (Jeremy doesn't really like mowing, and we didn't want to spend the time that lawn would require.).

There were a lot of positive things about it.  It was pretty, large kitchen, nice neighborhood, finished half-basement.  So, I guess if you're going to miss the house God has for you, at least it's good to end up with a nice house.  Ha!  I'm just kidding about that, because really I think it's best to wait until you know what God has for you to do and do that.  But, thank God that His Word says that all things work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purposes.  God is so merciful, so kind, so full of compassion.  And, you know what, He blessed us in that house in spite of everything!  That's how good He is!  But, I have often wondered what would have happened if we had lived in the other house, the one we should have bought.

This reminds me of another story, and these two definitely relate, so I think I'll share it.  Now, Jeremy and I are firmly established in the belief that our God is a God of increase!  He is a Blesser, a Rewarder, and He likes to give His children good and wonderful things!  So, at the time of this second story, we lived in the above-mentioned house, aka "the wrong house,"  and we had lived there for several years.  I always knew we wouldn't be staying in that house forever, and really I was always ready to move out of it, because I didn't really like it.  Now, I was very, very thankful for it, and I never complained about it.  I just knew if wasn't "our house."  It never had been, and it never would be.  But, nonetheless, we lived there for several years, and lots of good and wonderful things happened there, so I'm thankful.  God taught us a lot from that mistake, because we learned how to listen to Him better the next time.  And, the time after that.  And, the time after that.  And, well, you get the picture.

Anyway, back to the story.  I was driving in a pretty rough area in Olathe.  I wouldn't normally have been in this area, but I had an errand there, so I was.  And, the houses weren't too nice and it just looked rough.  I was alone in our van (a rare thing at this point in my life), and I was just driving through this neighborhood back to a main road.  And, there was a house for sale on the corner of this street in this neighborhood.  And, the Lord spoke to my heart, not out loud, but it was very clear.

"If I wanted you to buy that house and move there, would you do it?"

Now, you might think my immediate answer would be "yes," because of course Jeremy and my main motto in life is to find out what God wants us to do and do that, but I was very hesitant when He said this.  First of all, my mind went a little bit tilt when He spoke that to my heart because in my mind, God is a God of increase, and how in the world would that house be increase from our current house?  I mean, this was a rough, run-down neighborhood.  True, the house that was for sale looked like the nicest one on the block, but that wasn't saying much.  So, my mind went tilt, meaning it was hard for me to accept that the Lord would ever want us to live in such a house and neighborhood, when I know what a good and wonderful God I serve.

Second of all, the Lord has spoken to me like this before, so I knew full well that if I said "yes" His response might be "OK then.  Sell your home and buy this one" or something like that.  And, I was seriously thinking about what I would do if He said that.  Would I buy and live in that house, in this neighborhood?  Would I like having my kids live in this neighborhood?  Oh my!

As I was thinking all of this, the question came again.  "If I wanted you to buy that house and move there, would you do it?"

And, I said something like, "But Lord, You're a God of increase, and I don't see any way that this house could possibly be increase for us.  It doesn't seem like you would want us to buy this house.  The house we live in now is so much nicer than that house, and in such a better neighborhood."  You see, it didn't fit my mold or view of how I thought God was at this point, and it was hard for me to comprehend the fact that God would ever want us to buy that house and move there. 

"I know," He responded, "But, if you were sure that I wanted you to buy that house and move there, would you do it?

I thought for a minute, and said, "Yes, Lord, if I was sure that you wanted us to buy that house and move there, I would do it.  I would do it in a heartbeat."  And, I truly meant that.

I had a feeling that at this point, He may say, "That is exactly what I want you to do" so I braced myself.  I also wondered what Jeremy would think about all of this!  My, this was turning out to be quite an interesting day.  But, His response changed my thinking forever.

He said, "What if I knew that there was a person in this neighborhood that would only come to know Me if you and your family moved there?"


That, my friend, is definitely increase!  Tears filled my eyes.  Glory to God!   

Well, God didn't want us to move there.  He was just using that to teach me a few things, and there are so many lessons in that story, it's hard for me to put them into words.  It really is!  Things are not always the way they appear on the outside.  You see, if God would have had us buy that home and live in that neighborhood, to the natural eye and to a lot of people that would have looked like decrease.  But, in actuality, it would have been the best increase ever.  Things are nice to have, and good to use while we live here on this Earth, but when we leave here, no thing is going with us!  But, people are, and people are what matter to the heart of God.  And, people are what matter to my heart as well.  Not things, people.  Loving people.  Ministering to people.  People are valuable.  Precious.  The fruit of the Earth.

Anyway, you may wonder why buying that first house in Olathe reminded me of that second story, but you probably already figured that out.  Because, it matters where you live and who your neighbors are.  It matters where you work.  It matters where you go to church.  It matters where you buy groceries.  It matters, because if you know Jesus, you are the light of the World, and you bring light wherever you go!  You bring Jesus.  You bring His love.  Places are different just because you show up there.  It might not seem that way to you, but they are, and you don't even realize it because you're there.  You don't know what it was like before you got there, but I'll tell you.  It was darker.  Because, you carry the light and love of Jesus inside of you.  Oh Lord, help us to share that light and love today with everyone we come in contact with.  Use us!

So, yeah, we bought the wrong first house in Olathe, but I'm so thankful that God's plan for my life isn't dependent on me doing everything right.  It's not ruined because of a mistake, glory to God!  I'm so thankful for the blood of Jesus, and for God's grace and unmerited favor on my life.  Not because of anything that I've done or haven't done, but because of everything that Jesus did for me on the cross.  When I make a mistake, or do or say the wrong thing, I just remember that I don't have to do everything perfect.  God is so much bigger than that!  So, I don't live in condemnation when I make a mistake, even if it's a big one, like buying the wrong house.  I just pray for God to help me right where I'm at now, and I just move on down the road.  His road.  His path.  There's no where else I'd rather be!