My Dream House

 “O Lord my God, you have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them.” Psalm 40:5

I remember how I used to dream of finding a new house, of being able to buy one that was just right for my family. Back in ’09, I’d just moved my family back into the house I grew up in. My husband and I were remodeling the home we’d outgrown, desperate to sell it and get out from under the crushing weight of our two mortgages. My parents had just purchased a second home in Florida, so, they moved there, and we moved into their house up here in the Northeast.

One day, while doing some online house hunting, I found a house that seemed perfect. It had four bedrooms, 2.5 baths, living room, family room, den, new kitchen with granite counter tops and Viking appliances, 2 car garage, 2+ acres of property that included a small orchard of ten apple trees, a fully fenced yard, established perennial and herb beds, and fenced vegetable garden. It had been built in 1880 and fully restored in 2004.

WOW. The pictures looked awesome. They showed this lovely Victorian farmhouse, standing stately and welcoming, in a field of wildflowers. I fell in love.

It WAS perfect.

So, since it did seem to be my dream house, I had to drive by and take a look. The address was only a mile or so from where I was living, so one sunny day I got in my car and headed over. I drove past it maybe four or five times, up and down the road, trying to see the house numbers on the mailboxes. It took me a while, but I finally figures out which one it was.

It was a Victorian era farmhouse, but it certainly wasn’t standing out in a field. It was right next to the road. Like, three feet from the road. Open your window and shake hands with the passenger in a car as it goes by–close to the road.

Ick.

Where was the lovely farmhouse in the field? I got out of my car and walked around the road to get a side view of the house and its property. Apparently, the photo had been taken from the other side of the yard, carefully, so as to hide the fact that traffic would be travelling by three feet from your window at all hours. And up close? the paint was peeling, the roof was sagging, and the porch railing was rotted in spots.

OK, so this could NOT be my dream house. What I’d seen online and what had seemed so perfect for me was clearly NOT. As the saying goes, appearances can be deceiving.

Needless to say, I was disappointed. But God always has my back. God knows what I WANT, but also, what I NEED.

Fast-forward seven years. Bill and I were sitting with Mom in the hot tub at her community clubhouse. We were talking about dreams and houses and where we wanted to retire. Bill pointed across the lake to a two-story white stucco home. It was right on the water, probably had a fantastic view, three bedrooms, screened porch, the works. “When that one comes on the market, we’ll buy it,” he said. We all laughed.

A year ago in May, Bill had a sudden urge to go online and check out homes for sale. He says it was something he overheard Mom and I talking about on Skype, but who knows? I think it was the Spirit nudging him. Because it was for sale; The white two-story stucco house on the lake.

He accidentally applied for a mortgage (be careful what you click on when looking at houses online) and I contacted a Realtor. The next week while I was visiting Mom, we took a tour. Then made an offer. Then bought the house.

Six weeks. That was all it took for us to find and purchase our true dream house. Because it was perfect. It is perfect.

Just like God’s plan.