Plan B

19 days. 19 days until we need to be out, so they can move in. How did this happen? How is it that our house sold in a blink of an eye, but despite our relentless searching, we have yet to find a new house to call home?

Its on to plan b. We need somewhere to go. Even if we found our dream home tomorrow, the bank would need 30-45 days to close our loan, leaving us homeless for a month or more. On top of that, we just seem to be running into a variety of other barriers, impediments, hurdles, potholes, etc. It seems that Gabe and I mostly want different things. For instance, different houses. Financial frustrations abound. It doesn't help that Gabe only has one day off a week to go look at houses.

I would be disappointed and defeated if I didn't have such a Mighty God.

I am really not worried, maybe a bit wearied, though. 

As I write that, Galatians 3:9 comes immediately to mind, and I am encouraged:

^"Let us not become weary in doing good, 

for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

 So, yes.  Lets not become weary, but lets also be real. We can't be homeless.

We could stay at Gabe's mother's house, she has an extra room. My parents have offered their camper to us. Maybe we'll rent for a while, a long while, and save some more money. Maybe we'll just rent short term while we continue to house hunt. I am sort of dreaming of an apartment, of all things. I like the idea of no maintenance and most of all, a pool all summer long. Am I crazy? I hate apartments.

A house I rented many years ago is up for rent again. It sits at the end of a dead end road that backs up to Pisgah National Forest. I loved the summer I spent there. I often reminisce about that summer for many reasons, it was truly a great summer. One of my favorite memories of the house is of sitting on the deck at night listening to the coyotes and the katydids fill the night air with eerie music. And look, today its on Craigslist for rent. What of that?

I really just want to be settled somewhere with a break from the tumult and upheaval. I think we need to catch our breath for a bit and reevaluate. But what do I know? We truly are just taking it day by day and trying not to make any huge mistakes.

An update and a ramble

We made it  through the very stressful trial of the home inspection and the subsequent price renegotiations. Over the last few weeks of anxiety and fret, Gabe and I have looked at each other, at different times, and said, "please make this stop, make them (the buyers) go away, lets just stay here and call the whole thing off."

Unfortunately, contract signed, that option is impossible for us. The buyers, on the other hand, can call the whole thing off.  For three weeks, they are given the opportunity to inspect the house and to negotiate repairs. They have until May 14th (tomorrow) to cancel the deal based on what they find in the inspections. Barring some MAJOR change of heart on the part of the buyers, who really want our house, this deal is going through. 

Therefore, in one month, we have to be out. Can you sense my excitement? No? Well, its because we have not found a house for ourselves. We have searched daily for our new home. And what we want just isn't manifesting. Our first dilemma came when we realized that what we want can be found, rather easily and affordably, outside of  the county we currently live in. Meaning, we can have our dream home but it would require a 30 minute or more drive to and from Gabe's work daily.

It was not an easy choice.  When committing ourselves to such a major financial burden, we want to do it because we LOVE the house we are buying.  However, Gabe is still working 14 hour days, to that we hate to add an hour or more round trip commute. That's thirty less minutes with us in the morning, his only time with the children. And instead of getting home at 11 or 11:30 pm, he'd be getting home after midnight. It doesn't seems worth it. So we have decided not to look outside of the 20 minute mark for Gabe, which is the greater Asheville area.

And since our price range is low for the Asheville area and we are faced with another dilemma: a nice house or  lots of land. You can have a nice house on a tiny lot in a crowded subdivision. Or you can get a dumpy house or trailer on a big beautiful piece of land. We realize that we might have to make compromises. We know we might not get our dream home this time around. However, we refuse to buy a house out of fear. The compromises we are willing to make must be accompanied by peace and a feeling of satisfaction with our choices.  If and when, we sacrifice our vision for this next house, we insist that it be for a very close 2nd best; and though a compromise, that we still LOVE it!

So now, we are just praying and waiting for the LORD to absolutely THRILL us ( a great prayer, prayed for me by my good friend Jennifer). We may be waiting for a while. That's okay.  In Ephesians 3, we are told that God "is able to do exceedingly abundantly more than we can think or imagine".  By golly, I believe it!

So this is our prayer, though by all worldly accounts, we won't be able to find this. We are not looking to the world for our provision!  Can I get an AMEN?

 Lord, If its Your Will for us, We would like a three bedroom, 2 bath house. A good sturdy house, it doesn't have to be new. In fact, preferably would be an old house, recently remodeled. It doesn't have to be so very large, but we would like room to grow into it for a while. Perhaps a basement that could be finished or a room over a garage? I would love a small, upstairs room with lots of natural light and nice view to make for a studio space and Gabe needs a garage or a workshop.  Please, please, a large-ish, mostly level, sunny lot for gardens and lots of outdoor play with dogs and children.  We don't mind painting or freshening up, but this time around, we need a break from a house in need of total rehab. We want a feeling of seclusion, but not isolation. We don't mind neighbors, but no subdivisions. We simply want a bit of land that gives feeling of peace and privacy.  And lastly Lord, we know where this gets tricky, but we need it to be close to town. No more than 20 minutes from Gabe's work and preferably, in the Fairview area. Oh yes, and can our monthly payments actually be LESS than what we pay now?  AMEN!