For those of you that have purchased your dream home or the land that your forever home will be built on, you know a little bit about the process. You know the up and downs. The way you feel when you pull up and the photos turn out to be very deceiving. Or you know the gut punch of being told “It’s already under contract. I’m sorry.” This part of our story will be very boring to some, but we don’t want to forget how special finding our land was. So here’s all the black and white about how it came to be.
Two pieces of land had caught our eyes. We visited both in person and discussed the pros and cons of both, as most do. The price on both pieces of land were within our price range and that was excited and promising to us. However, instead of the 100 acres Chad had dreamed of owning, these properties were both under 30 acres. We discussed how we could make that work and why it might be a pro instead of a con. We discussed how much money we’d have to pour into one of the parcels to get it to the point where we could build. We struggled to find peace with one of the parcels. There was just too much needed to prepare it for a building site. We could come up with options, but our hearts just couldn’t come to peace about calling it home. The other parcel just didn’t work out and we were heartbroken because we had big dreams for it.
As we continued to try and come to a peace treaty regarding the first parcel, part of the process included taking my god-parents to see the piece of property and get their thoughts. While on our way to see the land, my brother sent me a Facebook post regarding 80 acres of land 3 minutes from my god-parent’s house. From the photos, price, and location listed, it looked amazing. From experience, we had learned not to get our hopes up based on photos alone. We asked my god-parents if they minded a detour on our way to see the other land. They were game and the people selling the land gave us permission to head up to the Facebook land. So we whipped the car around and headed up the mountain.
It took us only a few steps to know that this land was something we were highly interested in. A quick walk around the property and we knew in our hearts that we had found home. We called the people that owned the land and told them we would like to put in an offer. They told us that they appreciated our offer, however, a family from Charlotte had looked at the land twice, told them they were very interested, but had not placed an offer or put down a deposit. The land owner went on to explain that he was a Christian and believed in treating people the right way. He wanted to give them the opportunity to put in a deposit that evening, and if they didn’t, he would then take our offer. A plan was formed and he informed us that he would call us back in two hours and let us know what had transpired. Our hearts sank. We just knew that this was the land for us.
Remember, we were supposed to be going to look at another property that same evening. We didn’t even want to go look at it now. In our heart, we had decided that we wouldn’t purchase the other land even if this land fell through. We had seen that our “dream land” was out there and we trusted that eventually, it would happen as it should. Since we had scheduled a realtor to show us the other land, we proceeded to go look and discuss with him. I can’t speak for Chad, but my mind was all over the place. I prayed nonstop that if it was meant to be, it would be, and if it wasn’t, I prayed that I would accept it with grace.
Two hours passed and we had heard nothing. I told Chad I was afraid those other people had expressed interest and the deal was being done as we waited. He continued to give me reassurance that either way this was the answer to our prayers. We knew not to settle after seeing this land. We knew that we just had to keep looking.
Our phone rang. Chad took the call and walked off. I attempted to not stress. Chad got off the phone and told me it was ours. I could have cried. Days later, I did.
Back to those of you that have purchased your dream home or dream land. It just doesn’t feel real, right? It’s like you’ll wake up any moment and all of it will be gone. Our closing was a month away. And for one month, we continued dreaming. We found house plans. We found a gate we liked. We called numerous people to get quotes, advice, and assistance. And we waited. And we counted it all down. We tried to continue to remember that it could all fall through. It could change.
Closing day came and went without a hitch (besides me forgetting to bring a certified check because I was so frazzled). It really was ours. God had orchestrated the entire thing. And it all worked out beautifully.
I learned so much. I learned that patience pays off. I learned that my worrying helps nothing. I learned that God knows the desires of our hearts. I learned that it is all through Him that we have anything at all. And I learned to trust the process, my husband, and God even more.
As we continue, I try to focus on giving each step to God and letting Him take it all over. We are just the feet on the ground to His plan.
Join us as we continue this process – we will keep you up to date on how God is working.