November 23, 2009: The Last Day at “Home”

One week before the expiration of the 2009 First Time Home Buyer’s Credit I was at the closing table with a happy young couple. After months of cleaning, painting, upgrading, landscaping, packing, organizing, hosting open houses, negotiating and navigating the for-sale-by-owner world of real estate, we reached the bitter-sweet final moments of home ownership.

Ironically, the day you leave your house, is the day it looks nicer than it ever has before!

God made it possible through the help of our wonderful friends at church, some pro-bono consultations from our neighbor and realtor Wayne, and what could only be described as God's sovereign hand in the selling process. Even with all the help, our house was still in a price range that was just a bit too high to be in the frenzied part of the market in Richfield, MN. We only had two showings in one month and less than five people at our two open houses. But by God’s grace, the second couple to tour our home hung in there for a second and third showing, and finally chose our place.

The closing went off smoothly, but now we had to deal with the move scenario. Multiple friends would be out of town on our moving date and another pair of friends were moving on the exact same date. However, God provided just enough people to help us move the whole household in one day with two little kids and a very pregnant wife – thank you Tina, Lisa, Matt, Howard, Alan, Dan, John, and Rochelle!

As expected, these months proved to be the hardest by far in our lives. A Thanksgiving spent worn-out and homebound, surrounded by boxes to unpack and papers to write was particularly difficult. But God was faithful to provide steady encouragement to keep our heads above water – and even A’s and B’s for final grades. As Isaiah declared, “they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles,” (Isaiah 40:31).