I've been completely overwhelmed the past few days with how blessed I am to live in the house we have. It's funny how nothing may change in your day-to-day living, but everything changes when God opens your eyes. I would be working in the kitchen, and suddenly realize what an amazing work space I have. I would walk into a room, and feel refreshed simply by entering it. I would look at the backyard and my children's play space in the family room, and not heave my usual "look-at-this-mess" sigh, but instead, mutter a prayer of thanks for the perfect house for my kids to grow in. And I would walk out to the front yard, and just take a moment to enjoy the trees and the quiet neighborhood, and bask in the blessings surrounding me.
I still love telling the story of how God gave us this house. Let me take you back to November 10th, 2008, the day I turned thirty.
Because I chose not to have a big party for my thirtieth birthday, we celebrated with my parents and in-laws at our house. It was a quiet but lovely evening, ending with cake and the Baird's traditional three-verse rendition of the birthday song. Then everyone said their 'good nights' and the kids were put to bed, leaving my husband and I to enjoy the rest of the evening together. The first thing he said was, "Let's sit down. I have something to tell you." Of course, I knew it was bad news... I could hear it in his voice. My mind started racing... heart problems, cancer, infidelity... what was the worse possible news? When he said, "I was laid off today," my shoulders actually relaxed. After all, a job is easier to replace than a husband.
But after several months of joblessness, my optimism and faith in God wavered. Would He ask us to move? We had barely lived in this house for two years, after outgrowing our two-bedroom apartment. There were so many things about this house that I enjoyed: the small yard, perfect for my young children to run in; the peach and apricot trees, and the roses blooming in the front; the roominess of the layout, hospitable and inviting to guests; our relationship with the landlady and her sons (she was so understanding, she lowered our rent a little when we told her of our situation). Oh, and I was pregnant. Surely God would not ask us to move from this perfect home that He had given us!
But still, every application my husband sent in was a dead end. We had to reassess... either we try to stay in the house and continuing digging into our savings, or we move, out-of-state (not what we really wanted, because we would be leaving behind most of our family and friends) or into my husband's parents' home. We decided to say 'yes' to my in-laws' offer, but gave ourselves a deadline to try to find a job. The closer that deadline got, the more anxious I became. I cried at the thought of moving from our perfect house. But when the day came that we knew what we must do, my heart was ready to trust in God's sovereignty.
We moved in with my in-laws in July, 2009, and my fourth child was born in August. My husband still found only bits of work here and there, but the pressure was off for us to keep up with rent. He did find a teaching job in November, and when everything seemed like a good fit, we hoped and prayed that the school would ask him back for the following year. It was not until he signed a contract in late spring that I was able to really start looking for a new house.
I started on Craig's list. Rent had gone up significantly, and nothing near our old neighborhood was affordable. So I looked in Livermore, but even there, the only houses within our price range were small for a family of six. I told myself to settle for whatever I found and make do with the size; there are worse things in life than living in a small house. But God had different plans for us. We looked at house after house, and each had something that didn't suit us. I finally found a house that was in our price range, but was bigger than even our old house. I prepared myself for the worse: a house that large in our price range usual meant that it was old and rickety. But when we viewed it, my husband and I were astounded! We could not figure out what was wrong with it! The landlord was an honest man who wanted a family to live in the house for a few years, until his family was ready to move into it. We looked at the large kitchen, the open family room, the space for home schooling, and we couldn't believe our eyes! God had led us (again) to the perfect home for us!
So we applied for the rental right away, and left that weekend for our church family camp. Camping was exactly what I needed, because I couldn't check Craig's list or call on the phone. All I could do was calm my heart and trust that God would honor us with the house. When we returned from camp, the landlord called us and told us we could sign the lease and move in right away. And that was July 1st, 2010! Since then, we've had countless guests, church small group meetings, kids' birthday parties, a band concert, and housemates move into the extra bedroom. We can only bless others with this blessing that God has given us.
I don't know how much longer I have to live in this house, but I will enjoy it every day. And when the time comes to move again, I will trust that God will provide us with another perfect house, because home is where God leads us.
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