Except the Lord build the house...

Photo from freshome.com - Upside-Down House in Poland

We have been house hunting for almost 18 months. I'm not kidding. It has been an emotional rollercoaster.

We almost bought a house in January. My first word of advice? Get a home inspection. It's well worth the $400 or whatever the going rate is in your area. You'll see that house in a whole new light. You might even decide to cancel. We drew the line when the inspector strongly recommended a structural engineer. On brand new construction.

Making the decision to plunk down an offer the first time was nerve-wracking. Getting burned and having to start the process all over again was depressing. It was confusing, too.

See, we had prayed about the first house for several weeks and the whole time it seemed God was pointing us to buy it. We loved the house and its location. We were able to negotiate a great price, and would be left with only one month to go on our apartment lease after closing day. It really felt as though God was holding out his hand and saying "here, here's your house." So when the red flags started popping up with the home inspection, we were scared--was this a test? Should we have faith and go through with it anyway? The bottom line however, was that we didn't have any peace about the home until we cancelled and our earnest money was returned.

A few weeks ago we started praying again that things would be clear--where should we live? Should we buy a house or not? Should we not even look in this area? Did God have plans to move us further away?

And then this other house came along.

Just what we wanted. New construction, great floor plan, incredibly reputable builder. And without any fanfare or big displays of greatness, God has quietly moved and caused this purchase to go so smooth and so seamless. We're getting an even better home than the first one. We close in about 21 days and our apartment lease is up March 31st. No overlap. And now it really does feel like he's whispered "Here's your house. I told you I'd take care of it." God does everything perfectly in his own time. Just wait on the Lord!

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Phillippians 4:19