Faith & Freedom Lifestyle

Well…in a little over a week the Lord provided the right buyers. Not only were they provided, but the situation could not have been more ideal. I can’t put into words how amazing God is when you let him lead. The details of this contract has left us speechless. Without disclosing too many details, we aren’t having to worry about extra costs that could have been involved and our “magic number” was very close to what was offered.

Thankfully, the distraction of our family vacation to Universal Studios helped to alleviate some of the anxiety that comes with home showings, accepting offers, counter offering and so forth. Luckily everything happened while we were away. Taylor even came to our home for our first showing to make our beds and tidy up! It all happened so fast that we weren’t quite prepared! She also came to the house one evening to fix our WiFi that had gone out. Boy is she dedicated! We were officially under contract by the last day of our vacation. The drive home was filled with planning and figuring out our next steps. First was possibly upgrading our camper and finding a place to “park” until we found land. Second, was how to come up with a method to keep/organize/donate all of our stuff when we got home.

It has not been an easy week back. The tunnel that has a dim light at the end of it also has some very thick mud. God’s plan is not always clear. His intentions are to grow us as He blesses us. That could not be more true. This past week was heavy with a few setbacks and very many emotions. The human side of us, me especially, got the best of our family. As I started to clean out and get rid of some of our belongings, the enemy started attacking me at all angles. I struggled with pride, possessiveness, entitlement, worry and everything in between. I was scared that our house wouldn’t sell and that I would be left without any of our belongings. I am a homemaker and I love all things pretty and nice. Decorating is one of my favorite things to do, and here I was choosing to let go of most everything we have acquired over the years. They are just THINGS that moth and rust will eventually destroy. I was starting to lose sight of what the Lord had intended for us all along. The doubt started seeping in to Josh as well. It seemed that all of the pieces were falling off the table instead of coming together. So, we decided to back out of the contract. Stress had gotten the best of us. This past week was a prime example of how the enemy uses fear and lies to create divisiveness. But God! When the enemy attacks, we must war against him through faith in Christ. Through divine intervention the Lord started providing answers and He let us know pretty quickly that we were NOT backing out. This was not the plan, and we needed to stay the course. Within one single day, some of those pieces started coming together. Our focus shifted to what we are building instead of what we are leaving behind.

To those that are closest to us, thank you. Some of the most wonderful family and friends are walking through these trenches with us. This past week was drenched in tears, but there was also laughter. One of our biggest blessings is our agent, Taylor. She is the most wonderful, selfless person. She has been in the thick of this WITH us! We knew she was on our team for a reason and we owe her the world. Some of our best friends are keeping us entertained, some are providing prayers and constant encouragement and my parents…ugh, if I only had words. They are our rock. My dad is very level headed but supportive, making sure that we have our plans in-line. My mom, however, is the dreamer. She has been my sounding board and guidance counselor. She sent me this as we were struggling this week: Thank you Mom!

So now what…?

We are currently cleaning out, organizing and trying to purge everything we have. Keep, sell, or donate? That is the question! In the meantime, we decided to go look at campers. One of the setbacks that we had this week was not getting an acceptable trade on the camper that we already have. The numbers were just not where we wanted them to be. Instead of breathing, we panicked and felt what we were planning was not going to work out. Of course our camper would suffice, but it wouldn’t be ideal for a family of four, full-time. We decided to give it one more shot at another dealer. We were able to trade our camper for a much more practical one to “full-time” in, and the price was much more on point! It’s amazing how God provides if we just let Him. To panic is human, and I think He understands that. But, His blessings are more abundant than our fear when we get out of the way of ourselves. So here we are, things are happening, and our boys are so excited, thank goodness!

And…
“Sometimes God takes you on a journey you didn’t know you needed.”

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