Tomorrow we get the keys to our new home. A little over 11 months ago we moved back to Texas from Nicaragua. We said good-bye to "our" beloved friars and the few Nicaraguans we had gotten to know in the 3 months we lived there, including the bishop, who is a dear and holy man. We also said good-bye to life as a missionary family. At the time it was such a relief to know that that was the last time we'd have to pick up our growing family and move to another country. We knew we'd miss the friars and various other things about missionary life, but the struggle in raising a family of young children (at the time I was expecting our fourth) was very real and difficult.
As I look back now, I know that it was a good thing for us to do. I am tempted to ask myself whether we could have done it, whether we could have gone back after the baby was born and still be living there, but I really don't know. It's never easy to figure out what might have been, nor is it really necessary in this case.
So here we are now after living almost a year with my parents and looking and looking and looking for a house or land to build a house...just anything that we could afford, here we are, the owners of a home. It took longer than I thought...ha! I remember thinking that we'd move back to Texas and be in a home before the baby came. Boy, was I naive. Daniel didn't even start his job until the week after the baby was born.
I got the paper every week and torn through the real estate ads just hoping I'd find something we could afford, something with an acre or two, something that wouldn't make Daniel's commute too far, something liveable, but simple. And when I say liveable, we weren't asking much. Our previous home had been infested with rats (including some living in the dining table's hollow legs), had holes in the ceiling where bats from the attic could come in the bedroom, had a clogged and dripping sink in the bathroom, had mud lines on the walls about 5 feet up from the previous year's flood, and had the usual pilas outside for washing clothes, though I had the luxury of a washing machine next to them.
So, no, we weren't asking for much, but the market in our particular town was not the same as the rest of the country and prices just stayed up there. Finally in October, we found a place. We just had to wait to close for several reasons.
God has His plans and He truly amazed me with the way it has all worked out. If we had found a place sooner, I probably would not have spent as much time with my grandmother who unexpectedly passed away in September. Several things like this have shown me just how worthwhile our patience has been. God is so good.
Our Advent will have the added dimension of preparing our home for Christmas. My prayer is that we will not get so busy in this that we fail to prepare our hearts.
As I look back now, I know that it was a good thing for us to do. I am tempted to ask myself whether we could have done it, whether we could have gone back after the baby was born and still be living there, but I really don't know. It's never easy to figure out what might have been, nor is it really necessary in this case.
So here we are now after living almost a year with my parents and looking and looking and looking for a house or land to build a house...just anything that we could afford, here we are, the owners of a home. It took longer than I thought...ha! I remember thinking that we'd move back to Texas and be in a home before the baby came. Boy, was I naive. Daniel didn't even start his job until the week after the baby was born.
I got the paper every week and torn through the real estate ads just hoping I'd find something we could afford, something with an acre or two, something that wouldn't make Daniel's commute too far, something liveable, but simple. And when I say liveable, we weren't asking much. Our previous home had been infested with rats (including some living in the dining table's hollow legs), had holes in the ceiling where bats from the attic could come in the bedroom, had a clogged and dripping sink in the bathroom, had mud lines on the walls about 5 feet up from the previous year's flood, and had the usual pilas outside for washing clothes, though I had the luxury of a washing machine next to them.
So, no, we weren't asking for much, but the market in our particular town was not the same as the rest of the country and prices just stayed up there. Finally in October, we found a place. We just had to wait to close for several reasons.
God has His plans and He truly amazed me with the way it has all worked out. If we had found a place sooner, I probably would not have spent as much time with my grandmother who unexpectedly passed away in September. Several things like this have shown me just how worthwhile our patience has been. God is so good.
Our Advent will have the added dimension of preparing our home for Christmas. My prayer is that we will not get so busy in this that we fail to prepare our hearts.
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