Our family has been blessed BIG TIME. First, the background:
For those of you who haven't followed our life (or this blog) for long, it is a well known fact that Will and I have lived in a lot of places together. In our eight years of marital bliss, we have lived in eight homes. Insane, huh? We started out life together in a house on the site of a church camp and have been in an old couple's winter home, two houses, a duplex, an apartment, a town home, and some friends' basement. It isn't that we especially like to move around. I believe that God knew exactly where we would end up, and luckily, Will and I are extremely flexible.
When we lived in the town home last year, a dear friend of ours (whose father happens to be very involved with Habitat for Humanity) made the suggestion that we research Habitat and what they are all about. My mind was blown. Habitat is an organization that builds modest homes for families. In my ignorance, I had assumed that it was an organization for refugees or homeless people, or even for people who are extremely poor. I even thought that the homes were just given to people. I knew that people were expected to help build their homes but that was about the extent of my knowledge. Instead, Habitat selects families who meet certain requirements including income, zero outstanding debt, and current living situation. Once a family is selected, it is expected to put in "sweat equity" hours (working during building days) and to attend a few finance classes. All of the building materials for the house are either bought or donated, and the labor is volunteered by churches and people in the community. Once the house is finished, the family pays back a 20 year 0% interest mortgage. The mortgage is determined by how much it actually costs to build the house. This is a concept foreign to us in the world today. If Habitat spends $xxxx on wood and nails, a family pays back $xxxx. The labor is volunteered and the appliances are donated by big name companies. The mortgage payments are then used to finance the next home Habitat will build. I loved Habitat's vision.
After a little research, I decided to apply last April. In August, our family moved into our current home. Will and I had forgotten about Habitat. The house we are currently renting is amazing. Life is good.
After nine months of absolutely no contact from HfH, a message was left on my phone from the director asking for our current W2 forms. I kind of laughed about it, and because we were in a great place, I deleted the message. Over the next four months, the director called my phone asking for different information or forms, and I ignored the calls each time. Finally, the lady figured out that she wasn't getting anywhere with me and called Will. She told him that she just wanted to do a home visit, which he scheduled for the next Monday.
Before the director came over, Will and I sat down and talked about our expectations for that meeting. We both thought that she would come over and see that we were doing just fine and would decide that we don't deserve a home. Back in January, our pastor had presented a tithe challenge to our church where he asked us to tithe and just see what God would do. If God didn't do anything, the church was willing to give you all of your money back. Will and I had taken the challenge and had already been blessed with unexpected (and unexplained) gifts. It didn't occur to me at the time that we took the challenge in January, a week before HfH first called us...
Within five minutes of our home visit, the director told us that we were getting a house. Will and I were both speechless. It literally felt like we had won the lottery. She explained that we would get to design the house ourselves (within a square footage limit) and pick out everything from siding to carpet. The house will be modest, but Will and I can't imagine living in a giant ridiculous house even if we had the money. We have always lived modestly. It suits us.
Even after three weekends spent building our house, it is still surreal. I had a moment the first Saturday when I realized that all of the volunteers at the site were building a house to bless my family. I have been on so many missions trips where we have built homes or churches for other people. This time it was for me. It was a humbling realization and a really amazing connection that God showed me. It is so clear to me that God blessed us for honoring him during the tithe challenge. How can there be any question that God is real and that He is for us?
So, that is what is going on in my family. Kind of a big deal, huh? Our house was started three weeks ago and is supposed to be finished in October. God is so good.
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