Don’t Stray From The Path

”“And on that day, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, each of you will invite your neighbor to sit with you peacefully under your own grapevine and fig tree.”“

‭‭Zechariah‬ ‭3‬:‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In 1988, God laid it upon my heart to pray about a new home. As I was praying this verse in Zechariah jumped out to me. I believed I got my confirmation through God's word that it was time to buy a home. I shared it with Dan and we began immediately looking.

When we got married we purchased a trailer from Dan's brother that was on a 1 acre piece of land. The land had value as it was located in a very nice area of our town. It was surrounded by beautiful homes. The land had some good value to it but back in those days, banks would not borrow on trailer houses because they were not on a permanent foundation. The first obstacle we were going to have to overcome was the fact that it would be difficult to sell what we had. We had purchased that trailer for $1 and we assumed his payments. At that time those payments were about $150 a month.

The second hurdle was that we didn't have much to work with. We had only been married about five years and with both our incomes it was going to be tight for us to pay any more than that.

We found a realtor and began to work on finding a home for us. The first miracle came when we found a HUD home in a very nice area of town right by an elementary school that had been vacant for a few years. The home was a four-level split with three bedrooms, and two baths, located on a corner lot. The house was being put up for bidding during that time, and in 30 days they considered all bids and chose the best one. We went in with a low bid which was almost 20K lower than asking. To our amazement, no one else bid for the house that month so they had to accept our offer. We got that house for $38K. That home ended up being the home we eventually sold as we began preparing for what was on our hearts. We knew there was a pull on our life during that time to be connected to what God was doing and seeing revival come to this nation. Now as I write this we are closer than ever!

The next hurdle seemed like a big one to us. I knew that I had heard from God to proceed, so we ended up deciding what we were going to do about our trailer. We decided to not go through the realtor on our trailer and sell it out right. It was going to require somebody with 25K cash to do that. As it turned out, we put it out that we were doing an open house and putting our house on the market and the first person that came offered us the full amount, in cash. It was the easiest part of the process.

Never stray from the path that leads to your God-given dreams. When God speaks--the provision and the process are laid out for success. Though many trials will come in your path to discourage you, God's word never fails.

It would not be the only house we saw God do a major blessing for us as we continued to prepare for what was on our hearts.

In December 2012, we purchased another home seemingly out of our reach. Only to see God's hand every step of the way. Through a series of events, we bought Dan's parents home. Dan was 1/4 owner already so we decided to buy out the other siblings for $112K. This home needed lots of updating but it was 2400 sq ft with 5 bedrooms and 3 baths. We enjoyed spending time remodeling this house and turning it into a home.

I had told God that when it was time to move He would need to bring the buyer. Two years after purchasing this home someone came forward to a realtor friend we have and asked about the home. We agreed to show it and they fell in love with it.

After years of waiting on the promise, we began to see the hand of God preparing us to move. It is never an easy decision to leave family and friends but when something is burning in your heart no matter what happens, press forward and watch God do what only He can do. To a Christian failure is not an option. We serve a BIG God.

Take some time and think about the many times you found yourself on a path and faced so many obstacles but knew it was the right path. If you will stay the course, God will take you through every trial and you will see all that is on your heart. He is always faithful to His word. Endure the hardships, and the misunderstandings, and enjoy the process. One day you will look back and know you are right where you are supposed to be!