Miracle One

 Miracle One: Sell This House

Well, the inks dry. My heart says it's final. It lasted  2 weeks on the MLS. We told our children not to sweat  the house for sale because in this economy it would take a miracle to sell. Then we all prayed  that God would grant us two miracles. Miracle One, sell this home and Miracle Two, provide a new one. We live in Florida so selling a  house without paying the buyer to take it requires a miracle of massive proportions. We embarked on a faith building exercise. God's taken us up on our endeavor.

We listed this domicile on a spur. Years ago, The Man and I decided to sell and downsize. Our home demands too much of us. It's like a screaming toddler requiring our undivided attention and every time we think we've got it settled down it presents us with a new time consuming, resource consuming issue. Four years ago we came to this  realization and we scrubbed it clean and windows sparkled and people came, but no one bought. It went on like this for a year. Exhausted we decided this must be our home for now and God would let us know when to move on.

The desire to move was firmly planted in our hearts but we had no plan to act on it. The kids were on Summer Adventures and us adults left alone to finish thoughts and do homework. We found that houses around us were selling. We contacted an agent and she informed us it's true. One week later it was listed. Two weeks later and we're doing appraisals, home inspections with a rock solid contract and I'm reeling wondering how did we get here and where do we go from here.

When I answered the customary phone call asking  if some folks could come look at the house  I said certainly and packed the kids up to run errands. As we pulled out of the  neighborhood Girlie #2 informed me that these were the folks who would buy our house. I started, my spirit said the same. They were only the second viewers.

Girlie #2's inspired utterings proved correct. Those selfsame folks presented an offer. It arrived the same day another couple had an  appointment to view. We waited  to respond. The second  family wanted to make a full price offer. This cemented the resolve of our first folks. They were bidding up the price of our house all on their own. We made a counter offer and our agent didn't even get a chance to present it before they came back with a higher offer.This type of sale, the norm seven years ago, is unheard of today. It's a bargain basement price these buyers are getting, but we won't be paying them to take our domicile. We reel at the miraculousness of it all.

As all this whizzes around us we struggle. We've put sweat, vision, heart and memories into the walls of this house, but when you are called to a new land, you go. Yes, you go and pray you don't make such a mess of the going that you end up wandering in the desert for 40 years. As we pray for Miracle number Two we're following up on that, asking God to protect us from ourselves, our grumblings, our pinings for  leeks and onions, or in our case hardwood floors and a fountain laden swimming pool. He already knows where we're going and  it would seem we're going to get that information 'Just in Time'. I'm centering my focus on him and learning to be patient.