Gifts Too Big for Bows

For the last two years we have been renting a beautiful house in Nashville.  We moved here in February 2008, unsure of what exactly our future held.  We put our house in Dallas on the market and loaded a small truck with only our clothes, dishes, and other essentials, prepared to stay in a semi-furnished condo until our house sold. Before we left, I prayed very specifically that our house would sell to the first person who saw it.  I begged God to make an already-difficult move easier by giving us a more permanent home as quickly as possible.  And God moved in a big way.  After three days on the (already-failing) market, we sold to the first person who saw our house.  I was overcome with gratitude.  I still cry when I talk about it.

Our House in Dallas

When our house sold so quickly, we had to move fast to find someplace to live.  We knew the size house we wanted, the area we hoped for (based on limited exposure to Nashville), and the price we were willing to pay.  We wanted to rent so we could save for a down payment on a new house (we weren't yet debt-free prior to the move), and it seemed like our wish list was impossible to fill.  And then God moved again.  A house in our price range with a desirable location opened on RealTracs.  The catch?  No photos.  We all know what that means.  It's usually a dump, right?  Well, we drove by and found this:

It's anything but a dump.  In fact, it's beautiful.  It's a crazy story, but, in the end, suffice it to say that we believe God held out on this house just for us, because rooting us in this area was a part of His plan. 

And now we are being humbled once again.  God provided funds for a down payment even in a difficult economy (I still don't know how we saved anything these last two years), and we started seriously searching for homes at the beginning of the new year.  You would think that after providing for us again and again, I would expect big things from our Heavenly Father, but I never like to expect a gift.  Regardless, God is a giver, and He loves to lavish us with things we don't deserve.

Our next big gift?  Well, I don't have a picture yet, but it will probably sit right here:

And this will be in our huge back yard (minus some of the brush):

(This one is taken at the end of the street.)

And I will get to drool over this view every day:

If God continues to work the way He has worked all week, this sign will no longer be there on Saturday afternoon:

Gratitude doesn't begin to cover it.