a story

Some of you wandered for years looking for a good place to live.

God got to you in the nick of time…took you straight to a good place to live.

Ps 107:4-8  (paraphrased)

I have a story for you.

A couple of weeks ago Dan found on a house on the mls to show me. We have seen many houses this way. Many. I suggested we see it. Dan sent our realtor a message.

Then, after that spring cleaning day, Dan suggested we drive by it and a couple of others he’d found. We saw this particular house backed onto a bike path. We wondered where the path led. One cul de sac over we found the playground it emptied out at. Full of the euphoria of  tasks accomplished and good burgers we piled out of the car, I strapped Mira into the ergo, we played. And certainly we walked up that bike path, peeked through the broken fence slat into the backyard of that vacant home, and wondered.

Boy, did we wonder.

Two days later we visited again, this time with our realtor and a key, full of anticipation. The kids ran, laughed, chased. Hide and seek games took them all over. So much room to move in. Elizabeth walked around ear-to-ear grinning. Dan took measurements, examined details. I walked holding coats, now a hand, now a babe. Watching the sun pouring in. Laughing at the brown bathtub, the basement bar, the height of a showerhead. Feeling the ear-to-ear creeping up on my cautious face.

That grinning girl finds me, “We need to listen hard to God. I think this is our house.”

“Me, too, ” I say. Now I’m grinning, too.

We venture past green carpets, a sunshine ceiling, white tile. How many bathrooms does it have? I keep looking at that sunlight. Looking out those windows. I look out every one. Wondering if this is our new landscape.

We pull on shoes, I retrieve the coats which have been tossed with such familiarity, we visit the yard. Oh, the yard! The pie-lot goodness. Now everyone is saying they don’t want to leave.

I don’t want to leave either.

And so we offer. There is an offer in already. We go back and forth. Courage from loved ones, plenty of prayers, and a few tense hours later it’s ours. Ours. Ours?

Tension gives way to shock. Shock gives way to gratitude, relief, excitement.

It all happened so quickly – you know, one day after ten years quickly.

I think we knew before we stepped inside, before she opened the door, before we walked up the driveway. I think we knew after that night at the park when we were all hoping and smiling and laughing.

And finally after ten years of looking we’ve found our first home together.

Now I just have to steel myself for the task of saying goodbye to this current home of ours. This good, good home…but I’ll save those words for this story’s prequel.

::

Wishing you a beautiful weekend, rich with blessing and light.

xoR