It all started seventeen months ago when the Lord whispered, “get your house ready for sale.” As exciting as that sounds, no one could have prepared me for the journey. Living in a home for twenty-two years and raising four kids in the process, ample memories were formed: Bible studies around our kitchen table, camping in the backyard with the youth group, cookouts, picnics, volleyball games, Superbowl parties, sleepovers, etc. Our house was a place where people would come and leave blessed.
Once the kids grew up and left, the purpose behind a large home turned into more work and expense than needed. The activities once held as a family drifted off. Looking around at the accumulation of stuff was disheartening. Should I charge storage rates for my kids’ things left behind?
After the Lord spoke to my husband about selling the house, we jumped in with both feet and started planning. The realtor walked through and made multiple recommendations. The renovations needed to market the house surpassed our expectations and increased as we moved forward. The more we repaired the more we noticed needing fixed. Our realtor connected us to a handyman who was able to complete every renovation.
It was a busy time cleaning out clutter, organizing, selling, donating and giving away our excess. When you have the storage room, you keep more than necessary. I even had treasures from my parents. For nine months the task of house prep took most of my time. My ministry was on hold except for prayer, study and a couple speaking engagements.
The grace of God was evident every day. I covered everything in prayer. There were still setbacks with the wrong order showing up or the timing of accomplishing repairs. We had unknown problems surfacing. “But through it all,” God was with us. We had grace (God’s divine assistance) with:
- endurance-keeping a good attitude despite the work
- finances-labor and materials
- selling items quickly
- our workers doing supreme work-we were very happy with work results
- the sale of the house-done in less than 40 days
- the home inspection-quick fixes
- the apartment we moved into-feels like a vacation villa
At the closing of the sale, we met the buyers. The entire process of preparing our home to sell, with all the updates, setbacks, and truckloads to haul treasures to storage was worth it, after seeing the excitement of the family who will take ownership. God brought us the people He had in mind for our home. I am indeed thankful for God’s grace helping us navigate our house selling journey!
Blessings