Something amazing has happened to us. We have been looking for a new house for a long time, almost a year. Every Sunday afternoon, rain or snow or sleet or hail, we grab a paper and begin checking out Open Houses. But we want more than a house. We want a house that we can afford and that would allow us to keep our old house and rent it out to someone, someone who needs the same kind of break we got to get their first house.
We set our criteria; master suite so we don’t have to walk downstairs to use the bathroom in the middle of the night; main floor laundry; a minimum of three bedrooms and two bathrooms; a basement; a room big enough to hold our small group if everyone comes. Pretty tough criteria, and the only houses we have found that met those criteria are only in our range if we sell the old house.
And then we got real lucky….
We had driven past a house near the library many times but finally arranged with our agent to do a walk-through. The house was priced well below its assessed value and was empty. I was thinking we would have to compromise with a smaller house. Yet when we walked inside we were shocked; it was big and it was beautiful and in wonderful shape and we couldn’t believe our eyes. It met all of our criteria. And we could afford to buy it and still hold on to our old house. How lucky can you be?
Or God is awesome…
Turns out the house has been up for almost 9 months and has sold twice, but both times the financing fell through. We’ve driven by many times but the house originally would have been near the top of our price range. It not only meets our criteria, it has so much more. The house has character; it has the feel of a country farm house. There’s a kitchenette in the basement. We get two refrigerators, two stoves. The basement room will fit us all; so will the living room upstairs. The driveway is a circle driveway so everyone from group can park their cars in the driveway instead of on the street. The family that’s going to rent our house was blessed with a big paycheck and opportunities for overtime that will make it possible for them to move into the home. We put an offer in on a Tuesday night and it was signed with no changes as of Wednesday morning.
It comes down to perspective. We choose to look through the glasses of grace. Without the perspective of grace we are just really, really lucky people. With the perspective of grace we are really, really blessed people. And to quote my favorite poet Robert Frost “and that has made all the difference.”
