the rest of the story

So the last week of April we contacted our realtor in Michigan about the coming season and the plan for getting our property and cottage back on the market. Since this would be the fourth summer on the market, I had a heavy spirit over more showings, low offers and disappointments. I was sick of the whole thing, especially since we'd doubled the driving distance by moving to North Carolina.

Well. On Monday, May 2, I received a text from our realtor Katie. She started out talking about the listing documents we needed to send, but also: " a family spent most of the weekend looking around your place which I just found out. They called this morning and asked for the survey, listing, and want to make an offer!!"

We'd had three years of dashed hopes and promises of offers which never materialized. But as the day progressed and the texts kept coming, we began to have hope. And so it was .... a real, CASH offer by the end of the day. The next morning we countered which they accepted immediately. And they wanted to close by June 1.

June 1. About a month prior, I decided to pray for an OFFER by June 1, but God upped it and brought a CLOSING by June 1. In fact two weeks later we were on the road to Michigan: about 900 miles one way, to wrap it all up. We closed on May 20, just 18 days after the offer.

 

 

We loved the cabin these 14 years. She was our respite, our place to connect as a family, so rustic and charming and had a spectacular view of Grand Lake. But life changed. All our kids left Ohio. My dream of the grandkids bunking in the boat house wasn't practical. And keeping her was too costly.

 

We're glad a family with young children now owns the cabin. We trust they'll love and enjoy her as we did. While we won't miss the massive amount of upkeep she required, we'll miss how she welcomed and sheltered us each summer.

 

I drew closer to God through this long process. He taught me that prayer isn't solely about "getting what I want." It's about strengthening my relationship with Him and trusting His will for my life. It's about knowing He will always be with me and love me no matter what.

why pray?

When you ask [God], you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives,

that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. James 4:3

On Tuesday mornings, I head to church and study the book of James with about 25 other women. I love it! Oh, boy, James offers so much wisdom and challenge.

So yesterday I posted James 4:3 on facebook and found myself in a discussion. Someone in our Tuesday study asked, based on this passage, why doesn't God say 'yes' to requests that we believe are heart-felt. She was honestly asking for an explanation. So I plunged in. In the end, I ended up examining myself. Here's what I said:

I will try, Erika. But only God can answer rightly! Though we might be heart-felt in our prayers and requests, ultimately it's God's call on how He answers. Being human, my mind is finite and my understanding limited. Just like our kids who ask us for things they think are best for them, as parents we usually know (big picture) what's best and what's not. That might lead us to think, why pray at all, if God has made up His mind? I still struggle with that. But I do think prayer links our hearts to God and helps us, in our weakness, to rely on Him more fully by strengthening our relationship with Him.

Thirty-four years ago, I prayed for my mother to survive cancer. My prayers weren't answered. You can believe there was some fist-shaking at God. How could my heart have been more pure, wanting my mother to live? Now, I think I see a part of God's purpose in it. Ultimately, I submitted to and trusted Him more. God became my go-to guy in raising children because I didn't have the person I would have turned to. Hebrews 11:1 defines faith: "sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." I think too often, we are faithful only in what we can see. An oxymoron, ya know?

"...he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Deuteronomy 31:7-8

Oh, I want to be faithful. I used to think it was a weakness, to have faith. Now I think it takes strength of will and perseverance, trusting God in all things, with all situations, at all times .... knowing He sees the big picture of our lives. I can be sure of what I hope for, certain of what I cannot see.

4 moms, 15 years, 15 kids

Nan, Elizabeth, Lori and me. We met for coffee this week. We began praying together for our children (15 in all!) and their schools about 15 years ago. A world-wide prayer movement called Moms in Touch was the brainchild of one mom and its sole purpose is moms praying for their own children, other children, schools and teachers. It's not a coffee klatch. Not a gossip session. Just one hour of prayer a week. And what a powerful, Spirit-led hour it was.

As our children have graduated, married, given us grandchildren, the four of us haven't gathered to pray in awhile. We hadn't even met for coffee in a long time, until this week. We've decided to meet for lunch monthly.

Having prayed together all those years, through victories and heartache over our kids, we feel incredibly close. Nan, Elizabeth, Lori and I love coffee together, but we especially love our fellowship. Thanks, girls!