We have ten days to be out of our house and we don't know where we are going.
A few weeks ago, Chaz and I were apartment hunting. We found a great apartment at a great price. The deal seemed perfect. But while we were waiting for them to approve our credit and run background checks, I had a strong urge to pray for a greater blessing.
I'll try to make this simple. A friend of a friend will most likely be moving out of state for work in the next few weeks. This person works for a certain government-funded organization that is pretty big in Houston (I'm guessing you can figure it out). He and his family are waiting to hear from work when they will be moving. Thus far, the dates have been pushed around a few times, and they are just waiting for the word "go" so that they can find a home out of state. Here's the part where we come in: they will only be gone for a year or two and want someone to house-sit for them while they are gone. They will only be asking these people to pay utilities--no mortgage, no rent. They would like us to do that favor for them.
I'd heard about this opportunity and given this guy a call while we were apartment hunting, but almost a week went by and we hadn't heard from them. We decided to move forward with the nice apartment I mentioned above. I was content with our decision, but a feeling of... I'm not sure what... was growing. I opened my Bible to Daniel. Daniel prayed an amazing prayer of faith on behalf of his people, the Israelites. The people had disobeyed God time and time again, and God had allowed them to become captives of Babylon for decades. Daniel prays that God will grant his people mercy. Here are his eloquent words: "O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy" (Daniel 9:18). I felt a common ground in this. We had also sinned in our mishandling of our money--the money God had given us. We have made unwise decisions and are now paying for that. But in my guilt I had forgotten about my merciful God who blesses us when we do not deserve it.
So I prayed Daniel's prayer. I knew that if God wanted to give us this amazing blessing, he would do it. Not because we deserved it, but because he is so merciful. Two days later I got the call I had been waiting for.
Now we are in a state of limbo. The family, while they would like for us to take care of their home while they are gone, still does not know for sure when they will be moving. There is even a slight possibility that they will not move at all. We need to begin moving out this weekend. I have been an emotional wreck over this entire ordeal, and now not knowing what will happen is just about to wreck me. We could very well still get that apartment I mentioned earlier. That would be the logical decision, the safe decision. But as much as I want to go the safe route, I know that I would be trusting in myself and not in my God. I left the decision to Chaz, and his faith is unwavering. He feels that God would bless us if we can just trust and be patient.
So, we are going to wait. We will most likely be "homeless" for a week or longer until we can move into their house. But we are blessed with amazing friends who have offered up their extra rooms for us (yeah, we might actually take you up on that offer!). And yes, we may not even receive this blessing. They may not move and we'll have to find an apartment. However, if we do not move forward in faith, we could very well miss out on a huge blessing--something that we never considered when we decided to lease our house. Please pray for us as we take this leap of faith, and pray for me, that like the father of the boy with the unclean spirit I would cry out each day, "I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24).
