To set the stage a little bit we
have working through the Adam Hamilton study The Journey as a church this Advent season. As we have traveled this road together I
learned some interesting new insights about the journey that Mary & Joseph
took to the place where Jesus was born.
I was able to reflect upon the Christmas story this season with a true understanding
of what it must have felt like for them because we to have been on a journey,
where there has been no room in the inn for us.
On December 20th, we were released from our rental house,
with joyful hearts as it had been a difficult place to live for the past six
months. We were planning on closing on a
new house and starting the next chapter of our lives, however there were some
unexpected “speed bumps” that jolted our path drastically. As we were loading the U Haul full of our
earthly possessions we received a phone call that we would not be closing on
our new house and may in fact have to wait even longer to be in our new house. As the day rolled on we found out more
troubling information about this house that we had thought would be a new start
for us, which made us question our decision even more. As time rolled on we found ourselves
embracing the story of Joseph and Mary as we found ourselves without a
home. We were blessed with wonderful
people from our church that opened their homes for us to hang out, store our
belongings, and try to figure out the situation that was unfolding with our
lives. We found ourselves, homeless for
Christmas, which was a struggle that had not nor could we foresee before it
happened.
Thankfully we are blessed with
amazing family who welcomed us into their homes for this past week and friends
who have extended grace towards our family in amazing ways. It has truly been a humbling experience this
Christmas season for our family. The day
after Christmas we ran into more issues with our “new” house and decided to
walk away from the sale entirely. This
was a painful decision but one that we felt would best benefit our family. After we walked away from the sale, the seller
came back and tried to lure us back to their property, however, we knew deep
down that we had made the right decision.
With all of this unfolding, we have started the process of purchasing
another house, waiting for the underwriting process to start, and redoing inspections,
appraisals, and loan conditions. While
this is not an enjoyable process, we believe that this is what God desires for
our family during this season. We have
had several loving families from our church offer to “house” us for a week at a
time and feel truly blessed to be surrounded by such a loving body of Christ. I firmly believe that these people do not
simply feel obligated to help us because I am on staff, have two small
children, or simply because we need a place to go but because they genuinely love
Jesus and want to share His love openly and freely. It is amazing to see the body of Christ at
work in such a mighty and powerful way.
As we move forward in the coming
weeks and towards the purchase of a new house, I would ask that you please keep
our family in your prayers as we discern God’s plan for our house. Please pray for our children, as we attempt
to give them some sort of stability during this time of transition. Pray for our church family as they freely and
openly extend grace to our family, that their lives will be richly blessed for
their generosity.
Despite our circumstances, we are
truly blessed to have amazing people in our lives, to be serving at an amazing
church, and most importantly to have a loving God that is guiding our path,
even when things seem so uncertain.
Thank you all for your love, support, and prayers during this time in
our lives as they mean more than words can express!
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