Home is where the heart is
Friends, did you know that Robert and I have had a crazy 3 years of marriage?
When we got married, we happily resided on Stockard Street, and our plan was to pay off the house and a buy a new one in about 5 years.
A few months after we got married, Robert switched jobs. A couple months after that, SWC asked us if we would consider moving to Nashville as they had a big need, and Robert needed experience to get ahead. Knowing it was temporary and the right move career-wise, we agreed.
We moved.
We still had our house and were in the middle of an awful real estate time.
With one income (Robert's) and lots of prayer, we signed a lease on a rental house in Nashville. God provided a job for me immediately. A job I loved, and a job that provided me with so much experience and direction for my next career step. With what we had, we paid our rent in Nashville and our mortgage in Indy.
Our rental house in TN was small, funky, and the deal of the century. While it was far from ideal long-term (the elliptical was in the living room, it had 1.5 baths, the bedrooms were tiny!), it was perfect for a temporary house for a young couple and a sweet dog (Otis loved his 2 acres with forest). We'd walk down the small, windy country road, drenched in sweat in April in TN, planning trips home to Indy and talking about what was next.
God provided the best renters ever (my parents!) after a couple months of dual house-paying. When they moved out, the house was in perfect and better condition than when we left. A few months after they moved out, we moved back to Indy. When my parents left, we put the house on the market. We moved in, unpacked as little as possible, kept the house on the market, and walked through probably 100 houses (I'm not exaggerating! We had a spreadsheet). After 3 months, we got a rent-to-buy offer, but she had to have the house in 4 weeks.
If you've walked through 100 houses and not found one you'd buy and learn you have 4 weeks to find & close on a house, you will think "no way".
My brother-in-law called us and said, "I have a house - you need to see it". We walked into the house on Camelot House Way and put in an offer a few days later. Since we were buying from a builder, they were motivated to close quickly and pushed us through. Since I was just working part-time since coming back from Nashville, we had to qualify for our home loan while having our other mortgage all on Robert's income. We got approved. Don't ask me how. We moved a lot of money around to a lot of places and prayed like crazy, and we closed. Don't ask me how we saved enough for a down payment while paying a rent and mortgage and moving (Dave Ramsey?). We just fought and we just did it.
Just over a year ago, we moved into our home and our renter moved in the old house. For about 6 months, things were fine. Then things were not fine, but we made it. We saw God's provision in so many areas. We never regretted moving into our current home, as it was clear it was where we were supposed to be. We put the house back on the market this fall, got a cash offer, and closed yesterday!
So, for the first time a in a long time, the Bracks have just one house to think about. When I look back at each of those moments, I see God working. I have a friend whose family has had some crazy medical issues. Every time she starts panicking about one, she hears God say, "Really? How many times have I provided for you in the worst medical situation possible? You are still going to worry?". That's how I feel about our housing situation. I saw time and time again that we had direction, provision, and no reason to panic.
And now, it's over. And now, we face what's next, whatever it may be.
When we got married, we happily resided on Stockard Street, and our plan was to pay off the house and a buy a new one in about 5 years.
A few months after we got married, Robert switched jobs. A couple months after that, SWC asked us if we would consider moving to Nashville as they had a big need, and Robert needed experience to get ahead. Knowing it was temporary and the right move career-wise, we agreed.
We moved.
We still had our house and were in the middle of an awful real estate time.
With one income (Robert's) and lots of prayer, we signed a lease on a rental house in Nashville. God provided a job for me immediately. A job I loved, and a job that provided me with so much experience and direction for my next career step. With what we had, we paid our rent in Nashville and our mortgage in Indy.
Our rental house in TN was small, funky, and the deal of the century. While it was far from ideal long-term (the elliptical was in the living room, it had 1.5 baths, the bedrooms were tiny!), it was perfect for a temporary house for a young couple and a sweet dog (Otis loved his 2 acres with forest). We'd walk down the small, windy country road, drenched in sweat in April in TN, planning trips home to Indy and talking about what was next.
God provided the best renters ever (my parents!) after a couple months of dual house-paying. When they moved out, the house was in perfect and better condition than when we left. A few months after they moved out, we moved back to Indy. When my parents left, we put the house on the market. We moved in, unpacked as little as possible, kept the house on the market, and walked through probably 100 houses (I'm not exaggerating! We had a spreadsheet). After 3 months, we got a rent-to-buy offer, but she had to have the house in 4 weeks.
If you've walked through 100 houses and not found one you'd buy and learn you have 4 weeks to find & close on a house, you will think "no way".
My brother-in-law called us and said, "I have a house - you need to see it". We walked into the house on Camelot House Way and put in an offer a few days later. Since we were buying from a builder, they were motivated to close quickly and pushed us through. Since I was just working part-time since coming back from Nashville, we had to qualify for our home loan while having our other mortgage all on Robert's income. We got approved. Don't ask me how. We moved a lot of money around to a lot of places and prayed like crazy, and we closed. Don't ask me how we saved enough for a down payment while paying a rent and mortgage and moving (Dave Ramsey?). We just fought and we just did it.
Just over a year ago, we moved into our home and our renter moved in the old house. For about 6 months, things were fine. Then things were not fine, but we made it. We saw God's provision in so many areas. We never regretted moving into our current home, as it was clear it was where we were supposed to be. We put the house back on the market this fall, got a cash offer, and closed yesterday!
So, for the first time a in a long time, the Bracks have just one house to think about. When I look back at each of those moments, I see God working. I have a friend whose family has had some crazy medical issues. Every time she starts panicking about one, she hears God say, "Really? How many times have I provided for you in the worst medical situation possible? You are still going to worry?". That's how I feel about our housing situation. I saw time and time again that we had direction, provision, and no reason to panic.
And now, it's over. And now, we face what's next, whatever it may be.
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