When we moved to our last house, almost six years ago, I was astounded at how well the place fit us. I've shared before the miraculous story of how that house came to us and the blessing it was right when we needed it.
But over the past year Steve and I began to talk on and off about looking for a new place. We loved our current home and didn’t want anything bigger. But our kids had reached the age when they would love having a place better suited for outside play. A place with more "scope for the imagination," to coin a phrase from Anne Shirley herself.
I began to imagine what type of house might be ideal for the next season in our family’s life. As I thought of a feature we’d love, I jotted it down in a list at the back of my journal.
When I was finished, I had created a snapshot of this dream house. It would be:
- 4 bedrooms
- 2 bathrooms
- lots of character
- on at least half an acre
- a fence around the property
- and red (I've always loved red houses)
I looked off and on at realtor and rental listings in our area, but the search overwhelmed me. What were the chances that house even existed and how could the needed logistics ever work out? I put the search aside, determining to remain content with the abundance we already enjoyed.
I prayed that if God actually had another house in mind for us He would bring it to us at the right time, without us having to look for it at all.
A month later I got a Facebook message from a good friend. (Hi Meliss!) Did I know anyone looking for a house? She and her husband were looking to rent out their house in the countryside over the next two years.
When I saw the photos and read the description of the home, I started trembling in amazement.
The house is:
- 4 bedrooms
- 2 bathrooms
- over two hundred years old—full of character
- on two wooded acres—a child’s paradise of a backyard
- has an old traditional stone fence around the property
- and the color? Well...
Since we moved in last Saturday, Steve and I can't stop marveling at God's incredible goodness to bless our family so far above and beyond what we ever expected. He overcame many obstacles along the way to get us here, and each day we revel with joy and wonder at what He has provided.
It is just as I imagined it would be--only better.
Many people have asked questions about the house or about this incredible process/story. If you have a question, ask away and I'll try to answer them!
