Saturday, October 3, 2009

House for Sale

Yes. It's official. Our house is on the market. Our tractor is for sale, too.
Interested in a house and tractor? We'll make you fabulous deal :-)

But Why?The question we hear all the time

This is why:
In winter of 2007, we first started believing God was asking us to sell our house. At first, this was quite a blow. I did not want to sell our home, and Jim didn't either. Over time, we prayed about it, and came to understand that this is what we were to do. We first put a "For Sale by Owner" sign in the yard in April of 2008. Since then, we've thought we sold it twice, but neither worked out. So, last week, we officially listed with a realtor.

We're extremely excited to see what might be around the bend for us. We have no idea where we will live next. We know we want to stay in this school district for now. We know our goal is to be debt-free and for me to be able to be home with the babies. When we first started understanding that we would sell our home, we did not know this was in relation to adoption. We didn't begin the adoption of our babies until November 2008. Now, it's becoming clearer how some of the pieces are being woven together.

Some people think we're absolutely nuts, some probably think we're going bankrupt, and a myriad of many other things. The truth is that we want God to be glorified through everything. Whatever will bring Him glory through the sale of our home, through our adoption, and through our lives is what we desire to do. We are far from saints and fall short every single day. By God's grace, He sustains us.

We also hear, "But, your house is beautiful. Why would you want to sell it?" I agree. It is beautiful. I love it here. But I think the beauty I find in our home is different than what it was just a few years ago. The beauty I see now is in the sunrises, the sunsets, the hawks, the herons, the fawns, the fox...the creation that God has planted all around us. I have enjoyed the luxuries of our home: air conditioning, garage, laundry room, space, etc. But God has not called us to comfortable. Nor, has he called us to acquire more and more for ourselves. I used to try and acquire more stuff. I would think, "Boy if I just had ________, then I'd be satisfied with our home." God has surely changed my heart, and a stubborn heart it is to change.

I was having a bible study at my house one night, and I remember one mother saying to me, "You're house is so beautiful. I wish my house...." and she went on to basically say she wished here house was more like ours. It broke my heart. It still does. I resolved that I never wanted someone to come into our home again, and see the outward beauty that our culture tells us is so important. I am starting to understand more and more the verse, "...man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart."(1 Samuel 16:7)

I built our home on STUFF. I arranged it for beauty. I didn't arrange it for my family to have a sanctuary or a place for my family to just "be". I was and still am so selfish. With God's help, I pray that He will construct a new home, built on His desires. I pray that He will reconstruct my heart to fit what He has created me to be as His servant, a wife, and a mother.