Moving Up

My wife and I have put our house on the market. As of Monday, it is listed on MLS and we’re hoping to get a offer sometime soon so we can have some buying power, but I’m not sure how soon that will be. A few thoughts I’d like to share along the way:

1) I didn’t know how much work this would be

I realize that probably sounds silly, but it’s true. Showing your house is not dissimilar to waiting for a baby to be born. You never know when you’re going to have to get out quickly, and you’re always trying to stay prepared. For us, right now that means cleaning up after ourselves and Hannah constantly. It’s a habit I’m glad to adopt, but it doesn’t make for easy Saturdays. We’re also always waiting for the phone to ring in hopes that it will be someone who wants to see the house. So far, we’ve gotten no traffic…it’s day 6. We’ll see how it goes.

2) I’m reminded of how much I want to control the situation.

I realize that my trust, security, and faith should be in God to take care of us in this process, that the unknowns I have to leave up to Him, but I continually find myself stretching out to try to control what is unknown…”How can I plan ahead to buy what we want? Is there a way to earn several thousand dollars before we actually buy one so that we can have a larger downpayment, thus a lower monthly one?” All these things that I know in my head are spinning my wheels. And that’s where I’m at.

Our home now is small, but we’re happy with it, and aren’t really cramped for space, we like living here, we like living below our means, but as I’m shopping for houses, I find myself wanting more. It’s kind of like how I’m not concerned about a big screen TV until I go to Wal-Mart and see ’em, then I want one. Except I won’t pay for a TV for the next 30 years of my life.

God, help me to be still, and know that you are present. Give me the strength to let go of the things I hold so tightly to. Allow me to see clearly that all of my efforts fall short to your plan and provision. You are in control, not me. Make my heart understand what my head already knows.

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