(I will begin a weekly series with photos of our purchase of this foreclosure and the months of remodel that followed.)
What was I thinking?
It wasn’t the plan,
I guess we really didn’t have a plan.
Just a vague notion that November was a bad time to sell a house.
So we succumbed to our nervousness and put our house on the market, knowing full well that the derelict of a foreclosure we bought was in the throes of demolition; gutted, and bare. But we did it anyway.
And it sold to the second people who looked at it.
Of course!
Thankful for the blessing but panicked in the timing, we began the begging game.
“Please hurry workers, we will be homeless in thirty days. We need you to finish the upstairs so we can move up there.”
After two weeks the plea became,
“At least finish one upstairs bathroom so we can move into the master bedroom.”
With twenty-nine days passed, we realized we would not be moving upstairs. There were still no functioning bathrooms and the walls were still avocado green, circa 1980.
So with suitcases in hand and a certain nostalgic sadness, we said goodbye to our old home of sixteen years and headed to a hotel. We naively thought living in a hotel for a couple weeks would be kinda fun.
And it was nice for about three nights, but by the fourth night we realized we were never going to have everything we needed with us. Everyday I was going to the house, shuffling through boxes, looking for the flat iron, the black boots, that grey sweater…In fact, I ended up going to TJMaxx and buying three sweaters, a couple pair of leggings, and socks because mine were buried somewhere…
By the weekend, the bathroom was done, not the master bath, but the guest. So we armed ourselves with rollers and the help of family, and painted the master bedroom and bath.
When Sunday rolled around, The Preacher looked at me and said,
“There is really no reason we can’t move upstairs now.”
Of course I am thinking, are you kidding?
In this chaos?
In this dusty, noisy, worker-filled construction zone?
But I knew he was right. With money flowing like water into this house, I also knew it was the most prudent solution, if not the most comfortable plan.
We realized it would be stressful living in that mess so we made a pact to not fuss with each other, even when the temptation to vent grew strong.
We refused to let the enemy turn this blessing into a curse.
Our relationship was more important than any house.
I won’t say that we never let the grouch appear or our frazzled nerves get the best of us, but by having that conversation, we were able to give grace, keep our tongues in check, and not go down that rocky road,
Most of the time.
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Ephesians 6:11-12 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
-What blessing is the enemy trying to turn into a curse in your life?
-Realize his plan and take steps to thwart him.