Reflecting On Our Journey

 I've been thinking back on our journey and it's been so cool to see God working things out for us on this new adventure!

This whole thing started last year when we voiced our dreams for our growing family.  We both want to have more kids and for that we knew we'd need a bigger place.  Our 2 bed, 1 bath apartment has been a lovely home for the past 10 years but we felt it would be easier to grow our family in a bigger place of our own.  As someone who has moved over 10 times in her life already, I know the stress and struggles of moving (throw in a baby on the way and ooof!).  So I started looking for a place we could buy before we added any more little ones.  

We looked at pre-existing places - and quickly realized that with the awful housing market, there wasn't anything we could afford in our immediate area.  We looked at Clayton Homes, and determined the house floor plan that I liked best was too expensive.  We went back to looking at pre-existing places an hour away, because they were budget-friendly.  Turns out they were either too small or the floor plan didn't feel right.  Several times it felt like we wouldn't find the right place...but we kept looking.

Eventually, we came across a listing for a used manufactured home.  It had 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, a large kitchen, and even a fireplace!  It was listed for an amazing $80,000.  We jumped in the car and drove out to look at it.  After walking through it, hubby said, "I can see us raising a family here!"  I was so surprised to hear him say that, but I felt the same way.  We looked at a few other homes they had on the dealer lot, but this one stayed in our #1 spot.  We went home excited, and I started looking for plots of land that we could buy and put it on.  

Through Zillow, I managed to find 2 half acre lots next to each other that would allow for a double wide.  We went out to look at them and we liked what we saw and heard from the owner.  They would need to be cleared and graded, and the neighborhood offered fiber optic internet, which was a huge selling point.  The price was also good, though we offered $5K less than asking price and that's what they ended up appraising for.  We got the ball rolling and were graciously helped by hubby's family!

Even before we started looking for our house and land, God's provisional hand was at work.  Turns out another lady had considered the land but decided against it when she learned about what it would need to prepare it for a home.  Our home was repossessed and came from Alabama, which is unfortunate for the family that lost it but God worked it out for our good.  

The same way God brought me together with hubby, God brought together our house and land.  Funny enough, the line that runs down the center of our double wide is called a marriage line.  Two become one. 

"‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh.  What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate."  Mark 10:7-9