New Series - My Blessings: How God is Impacting my Life

My Blessings: How God is Impacting my Life

     This new Christian Pals Series will allow us (the writers of this blog), to demonstrate how we see God interacting within our own personal lives. Once a month, a blog will be centered around this series. 

     For our first blog in this series, I would like to share how God answered my families’ prayers and then some! It may be a long post but trust me, its worth it!

     My wife and I have been searching for our first house purchase for years now. There were 3 main problems though. 

1. Could we afford a house?
2. I’m extremely picky and must love every inch of a house for me to spend that kind of money.
3. Where do we want to live?

     The latter was a huge problem for us. We had no idea where we wanted to live. We searched all over the USA and found a few really nice places in Massachusetts (on a beautiful lake that we could kayak and fish on), Colorado (with lots of land that my son could have four wheelers and I could use as a driving range for golf), and Washington (all the outdoor activities). Family fun was a huge aspect to our search. 

     We just could not figure out where we wanted to live and after two years we STILL had no idea where we wanted to be. Finally, we decided to put it in God’s hands. I prayed each day to God asking him to put us where HE needs us. To let his WILL be done on earth as it is in heaven. It didn’t take long for God to answer our big question. Keep in mind, my wife and I couldn’t figure out this answer for years, yet God had an answer within days!

     Days later, my wife is getting ready for work early in the morning and it hits her. She said she instantly felt like she was being told where to look for a house. She got in her car and began her hour drive to work at 5am. The entire trip, she could not stop thinking about searching for a house in our hometown. She also knew she had a 12 hour shift about to begin so she wouldn’t have time to search just yet until after work late that night.

     That changed quickly though as she headed inside for work. She arrived at her unit and was greeted by a hysterical employee. Her coworker was panicking because she was assigned to a unit that she was uncomfortable with which required mixing dosages and giving injections all day. My wife felt the need to help out and she switched units with this employee. The employee was instantly gratified and my wife walked over to her new station. That’s when she discovered, she now has a one hour gap before her first patient arrives at this station. The gut feeling kicked in again telling her to search right now for a house where we grew up. She couldn’t shake the thought so she grabbed her phone, clicked on the Homepath app....and nothing happens. She clicks again and again and the app refuses to work. She never had an issue with Homepath before but today it was not working. If you don't know about Homepath, its an app that finds houses in foreclosure. That’s when Zillow came to mind and she downloaded the app for the first time. She typed in our hometown and clicked search. That’s when God showed us our future home for the first time. It was the first listing and best part, it was JUST LISTED that morning! 

     Part of the reason we didn’t want to be in our hometown was the fact that every house looks the same, it’s not close to my wife’s job, and there’s not much to do other than the parks (which my son loves to go to), an overcrowded spring  fed river, and an ocean where the fishing is not the best. Remember though, we asked God to put us where HE wants us, according to his will and that we fully trust him. 

     The listing pops up and immediately my wife falls in love with the house. It’s not a typical house like all the others in the area. It was a one of a kind, beautiful ranch style home that met every one of our needs AND wants! Plus, it was right next to a huge sports complex where our son likes to play at and closer to her job compared to where we are now!

     She calls me and said she really feels like God has a plan in motion and we need to go see this house. She sends me the link to the house and it was amazing! Like I said, I am very picky but this place was perfect! She called the realtor and scheduled a showing for that night. 

     My wife called me back with so much excitement that it transferred over the phone and into me as well. 

She told me “You know, if God didn’t have me switch with my coworker, I would not have found this house or even had the chance to go see it today.” 

     She was now getting off work earlier because of the position change. Another sign God’s plan was in motion. 

     We arrive that night at the house and we watch as another potential buyer is leaving the house. The realtor could not be there, so she sent her assistant to show us the house. This was exactly how God wanted it as I will explain later. 

     We go through the house and it was all remodeled in the colors and materials that we loved. It had a pool, a wrap around porch with a swing, huge backyard for our kids, plenty of rooms, a play room connected to the office so I can watch the kids while at work, and an outdoor fire pit just like I had growing up. As we walked around the seller’s house, we noticed A LOT of similarities between us and them. Many of you know I am a diehard Miami Dolphins fan. When we walked into the office, the seller had Miami Dolphins gear all around the room. He had several McFarlane’s Miami Dolphin player figures and lots of 72’ Dolphins team memorabilia. The realtor’s assistant watched as I was naming all the players to my wife, along with my favorite player of all time, running back Ricky Williams. 

     We go to the garage and next to the door are the same shoes I was currently wearing. In the kitchen were Superhero drawings by their son. We (especially me) are Superhero nerds. The bathroom had christian based paintings with scripture on it. We head upstairs and in the master closet, my wife sees the same nursing scrubs (color and brand) that she was wearing at that very moment. We go to one of the bedrooms and I spot more Miami Dolphins gear and there it was…a framed autographed magazine cover of Ricky Williams. I was geeking out! 

     Every room had the light grey walls and flooring, exactly the way we like it. We go outside to the pool and see the home owner with his dog. A large german shepherd, which reminds me of my favorite dog I had as a kid growing up and one that we always planned on getting for our sons. Just another connection God made for us and this house. 

     As we get ready to leave, the realtor’s assistant (remember how I said earlier that God had her there for a reason) told us she never saw a buyer have so much in common with the sellers of a house. 

She then told us “I just finished a realtor class and they mention writing seller’s a letter. You guys should write them and tell them about everything I just witnessed with you guys and include some photos.”

     So thats just what we did. The house already had 3 offers before we went to the showing and 8 more visits were already scheduled for the next day. The seller’s were going to pick an offer 4 days after our visit. We went home and worked on the letter. We mentioned all the similarities, how we loved everything there, and how we would love to make our new family memories in their home. We submitted our letter along with our pre-approved loan offer letter. The days go by and the realtor called us back. She said the seller’s were so moved by the letter that it brought them to tears and they accepted our offer over all the others (around 6-8 offers in total). My wife and I were filled with Joy! We quickly began the process of having inspectors come out and signing paperwork.

     Here is where I messed up, where I stumbled. I am a numbers guy and I started to allow fear and doubt into my heart. I started worrying about everything that could go wrong and if we could handle all of the financial aspects of the house. It just so happened that at the same time, my job was going to be on hiatus for a month because the company I work for was going to work on a feature film. Meaning I would have little to no edits coming in and no income. I became extremely stressed as I sat in my office with my wife. God put this plan in motion for us and yet I am starting to freak out inside with fear and doubt about our finances. 

     My wife reminded me that "God would not put us in a situation that we would not be able to handle." 

     Wow! So true! That was exactly what I needed to hear at that very moment. That’s why one of my favorite sayings in the bible is “Iron sharpens Iron.” Meaning when one of us begins to dull (or in this instance, have doubts), the other comes in and sharpens you back up to make you strong again. It’s so important to have a strong bond between your marriage and God because it creates that solid foundation to build on. 

     My wife tells me to trust God and begins to walk out of the office. I turn to watch her leave and then my computer makes the notable email “ding!”. I turn back to the screen and an email pops up with the subject “Interested?”. I open the email and its from the company I work for. The owner found a posting for a 10-week editing contract from another company where I would be editing television episodes for a new series. BAM! Its like those V8 commercials where someone hits you on the forehead with the palm of their hand. How dare I doubt God! I felt so stupid for doubting him. I stepped back and told God, “I get it and I am sorry. I no longer will stress about this and I put this all in your hands. Continue to guide us and thank you!”. 

     To add to this, a few days later, my wife finds out she is getting a promotion at her job, with a pay increase, and now approved for overtime shifts if desired. Then I find out that six more jobs have been lined up for me during the time the company is to work on the featured film. How awesome is our God! 

     I know this is a long blog entry and I really appreciate you getting this far but God was not done yet! Our cups were full of Joy and God was ready to make it overflow!

     The inspection report comes back. Every major aspect passed with no problems! Air Conditioners were new, roof was already replaced, the septic drain field was brand new, and the foundation was great. A list of 8+ minor repairs generate and I send them over to our realtor. She requests a meeting to go over the list and this is where the cup of Joy overflows. We are told EVERY SINGLE ITEM on that list will be fixed! What!? Are you kidding me!? The realtor explained that the sellers wanted the place to be fixed the way they would want it if they were buying it. She mentions how rare it is for a seller to think of the buyer over themselves like this. Who does that in this day and age? There was a leak in the pool pump, they bought us a NEW pump. They bought a new door bell, two new fire alarms, and replaced the outside door and door jamb since it had some dry rot. The window sashes that hold the windows open were not working, so the realtor told us that she is fixing those as her gift to us. We left that office wide eyed and praising God! We hugged, we high fived, we screamed in praise and thanking God in the car! Every day became more amazing. 

     Next step was the loan and insurance. The home owners insurance came back cheaper because the house inspector did a wind mitigation for us. The bank gave us a loan with no Mortgage Insurance required since my wife is a RN. Every single domino fell according to God and the last one falls this Monday!

     This Monday, May 14, 2018 my wife, son, new baby on the way, and I CLOSE on this house that God has blessed us with. My blessing from God shows you must put everything in God’s hands! Hands that will not mislead you or let you down! In a couple days time, God was able to do what we could not accomplish in years. Nothing was working when we tried to do it on our own but everything changed once we placed it in our Father’s capable hands. 

     So I tell you this, prayer does work! Many people bash those who pray saying it does nothing, but I tell you it does! Prayer is our link, our way to communicate with our Father and Jesus. Its our way to build that relationship, to discover the Love he has for us that no one else can give us. You will have times where doubt tries to ruin everything, but thats why you need someone by your side to help keep your Iron sharpened. It can be a spouse, a family member, or a good friend. Put everything in God’s hands and be prepared to have your cup overflowing with Joy because we served a Loving God.

     Thank you God, Jesus, the home sellers, realtor, my employer, my wife, and everyone else who helped us along the way! THANK YOU with all our hearts!

     What has God helped you, your family and friends, with lately? Feel free to share in the comment section below. We would love to hear back from our readers!

Ken is a blogger at Christian Pals Blog. He enjoys anything creative and playing golf.
Proud father, husband, and servant of God.

If you enjoy reading the Christian Pals Blog, click "subscribe" at the top of the screen so you can receive an email alert for every new posting! You can also click "follow" on the right side at the home page.


...