When Trey and I packed up and moved across the country, we thought we were being very wise when we signed a year lease at our apartment complex. That would give us an entire 12 months to get to know the area, figure out what neighborhoods were good, what school district we wanted to live in, and to learn that we don’t, under any circumstances, want to have to use a major interstate at any time remotely close to rush hour…ever. Little did we realize how much we would absolutely abhor apartment life. We hate having to wait for the gate to let us in and out. We hate living on the second floor. We hate not having space for all our furniture. We hate hearing people partying at the pool all the time. We hate having to take two trips to unload the groceries from the car up to the second floor. We hate that our upstairs neighbors sound like a herd of elephants, even at 4am.
So, we started doing what any sane couple would do. We started house hunting.
At first, it was just for fun, just an occasional “oh, that house is for sale, isn’t it cute.” But it didn’t take long before it was two straight days of 6 hours in the car driving all over the northwest side of San Antonio and writing down realtor information.
Then, one day, as if it were truly a sign from above, one of Trey’s coworkers told him of a website that would let you search real estate listings by neighborhood. That same day, he found out that the Director of Finance’s husband is a mortgage broker. That day at lunch we checked out the website and found a house that was exactly what we were looking for. Four bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, good sized back yard, no interstate driving for Trey to get to work. So we decided that after work that day, we’d just drive by. All that afternoon I prayed that if this were really and truly the house for us, that someone would be there to let us in so we could look around, and not just in the window. Sure enough, when we got there, the Assessor from the bank was there and he let us in. Then we applied with said Director of Finance’s husband to be pre-approved for a mortgage – and we were, for about $40K more than we expected. Everything was falling so nicely into place; I was sure that God was pointing us toward making an offer on this house.
Just to be safe, that Friday, Trey went to talk to the office at our apartment complex to verify that we understood the fee for breaking our lease early. It turns out, we didn’t. In addition to a thousand dollar fee, we’d still be expected to pay out the duration of the lease. That speedbump really messed with my head. I couldn’t understand why God would make everything else fall so nicely into place but then throw this major setback in our way. I was so excited that I thought I knew God’s plan for us that I was genuinely really upset and confused.
Truth is, this all just happened last week, so I’m still a little upset and confused. So, when I sat down to write this week’s bible study, it was like a big flashing light when I saw Tara’s favorite bible verse was Proverbs 3:5:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
Who am I to think I could possibly understand God’s plan? When things just don’t seem to go the way they should, we have to remember to trust in the Lord, because only He knows what our lives are really meant for. Our silly little plans are nothing compared to the amazing things God has in store for our lives. Trust in the Lord, because, quite frankly, we don’t understand a lot.
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Dear Lord, thank you for the plans you have for us. Even when we can’t see the full picture, thank you for guiding us. Help us to trust in you in all that we do.
Amen.