Don't Settle

 At one point in our house-hunting adventures in the spring of 2018, I was just tired.  We had made a couple of offers on separate houses which were rejected.  We had looked around Flora, in the country north of Rossville, south of Carroll High School, and one house in a subdivision of sorts just north of Rossville.  The location of that one seemed good---a few miles from Hilary and Blaine plus the road to the west was direct to Megan and Matt's house.

I remember standing in the house, looking at the kitchen and the living room, contemplating how I would like having the washer and dryer behind folding doors off the dining room, and I looked at Rebecca, our agent.

I remember sighing and saying to her, "Well, I guess I could make this one work, but I really don't like how this is set up and I don't care for that particular thing..."  She interrupted me, looked seriously at me, and said, "Beth...don't settle.  You know what you want.  You aren't in a hurry to find another house.   Keep looking and we will find what you want.  Just don't settle."

Those words resonated with me.   We continued to look and by the end of May, we had found the perfect place for us.  Hilary and Rebecca had each sent me a text on a Monday that we needed to look at this place on 1000E.  By Tuesday morning we were walking through it, and it seemed perfect.  A place for the Christmas tree.   Room for the big Siemens Family Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations.  A sewing room.  Two full baths.  A master bathroom.  A nice laundry room with a rod to hang clothes to air dry.  A two car garage.  A big kitchen.  A deck, porch, and patio.  A nice barn for 4-H livestock.  Another outbuilding for storage (which turned into the Party Barn).  The gazebo.   Everything we wanted....but at a price we thought we could not afford.

Through a series of negotiations with Rebecca, the other agent, and the Summerses we settled on a price we could afford.  After settling the estate of my parents, we were able to pay cash for the property so there would be no mortgage.  We were also able to juggle some funds around so that we could buy paint, new carpet, new living room furniture, a new range and refrigerator and dryer.  

It all fell into place---and we were happy.  

Plus it was just five miles from Hilary and Blaine so they would have a place for Landon's and eventually Tessa's and Owen's livestock for 4-H.  It was just 18 miles from Megan and Matt so they were close enough for frequent visits and helping out with Cooper and Lynnlee when needed.   Fortunately for us, it was close to our doctors at Arnett and Lafayette Podiatry, the hospitals, shopping, and restaurants.  Delphi was just 7 miles away also so two grocery stores, a Dollar General, a CVS, and several good restaurants were available for quick dining options.

Yes, it was perfect.

Today's devotion was about not making decisions in the heat of emotion.  At the end of the daily reading is always a "Trust in Him" section that poses a question.  Today's challenge was to "take big decisions off the table and wait.  Trust God to show you what he wants you to do."  In our case it was Rebecca's words that caused us to wait.  "Don't settle."  We trusted God to show us to the perfect house for us, a place we could call home, somewhere that our family could gather safely and enjoy time together.  We found it.  All because we trusted and we didn't "settle."