Even when He says, "No"

We Christians say it all the time. "God answers prayers!!!" or of course, "God is good!" It is so right and good to say those things, but why don't we also shout it from the roof top when things don't go as planned? 

We didn't get the house we wanted!

"God is good!!!"

Our house still hasn't sold!!

"God answers prayers!!!"

Today I want to tell you why I still feel like those things are so true even when things aren't going the way we thought they would be going. We made an offer on a house that we thought was the one. This house had a huge backyard, was on a golf course, had secret hideaways, hidden rooms to play in, a large downstairs, and even a full-sized refrigerator and freezer side by side in the kitchen, not to mention the giant pantry (what more could a family with 4 boys ask for?!!) Well, here's the thing. It was at the top of our price range, and while we could afford it, we would have been living at the top of our means (something we don't like to do.) Were we being selfish? Were we walking in God's will? We prayed about it, had others praying about it, and moved forward. As is par for the course, we went through the counter-offer game, inspection, paperwork, more inspections by specialists, etc…we weren't feeling good about it. 

"Should we get it?" we asked God. "Close doors if not! Give us peace if so!" 

Through a series of events with the inspections and things that would need repair, we asked for a certain amount from the seller. They wouldn't budge much, and we just weren't feeling good about it. We worked on our budget to see how it would work, and we just didn't think it was going to be a wise decision. It would have affected the way we lived and served, and it just didn't seem like God was going to give us that peace we had prayed for. So we terminated the contract.

And now we have peace.

God is good!

We have also had people interested in buying our house, and nothing has come of it yet. We are waiting…and God has answered our prayers! He has us in this waiting period for some reason. We don't know why, but we are confident that this IS His answer. Wait. Does He have something great waiting for us? An even better house? Or maybe He's just molding patience and trust and humility in our hearts (and definitely in the hearts of our kids who are taking all of this in and having discussions with us way above their age level.) We would have never chosen for our feet to wander here, but our faith is being made stronger! Whatever the case may be, we know He's holding us. He has this house and our future house in His hands. He has our health (6 out of 7 of us have had the stomach bug this past week), our finances, our emotional well-being in His hands. God has GOT this, and while it might not always be fun and rainbows, we are trusting in His grace and provision. We are blessed beyond measure…seriously, we are praying about moving from one large house with air conditioning and heat and beds to another!! Derek has a car to drive to and from work in, while I have a car here to use for the rest of us. So many people don't have any of these things. God has blessed us so that we can bless others…may we be wise and open-handed in all of the "things" we have. 

Thank you for praying for us! Please continue to do so…and know that He's answering…and He's good!!

P.S. I also want to mention how much I love my husband. He is such a wise, wise man. He is a strong leader, yet he is so gentle in his leading of our family (namely, his wife who is kind of back and forth on a lot of feelings lately :) ) He is patient with me, listens to my opinions and thoughts/fears, and he respectfully takes on the roll of walking our family down this path God has placed us on. I am so thankful to be on this journey with you, Derek!!!!!