Woohoo!! Completion on my house completed last Friday and God was faithful even though at times it looked impossible! So here is the journey Papa has taken me on to get my house sold, the good stuff and the not so good. I have written some of this previously but felt Papa say that I should tell the complete story.
After Christmas I started to seriously sort out my house to sell it. There was a lot to do, including putting in a new floor, ceiling and cabinets in the kitchen. Thankfully I had some good friends who gave me their expertise and their time. Eventually, with a lot of person hours and 4 skips later the house was ready to go on the market in April.
I felt that Papa said at that time that I should expect an asking price offer within 2 weeks and contracts in 6 weeks. Sure enough I got an asking price offer within the 2 weeks (or at least I would have done had the estate agents done their job properly) but sadly it fell through. The couple who had made the offer were my neighbours friends and I felt Papa say that I should offer to rent it to them. This made sense to me as it would mean contracts in 6 weeks, granted different contracts to those I imagined but contracts nonetheless!
I got the phone number for the lady who had made the offer, I knew she was very upset at not being able to buy it as she had set her heart on it and the house was beside her best friend. I rang her and offered to rent her the house for a couple of years until they would be in a position to buy it. She was lost for words and did not know what to say. We agreed that she would ring me the next day with a decision. I was so blessed just to have the conversation with her knowing that the offer had blown her away. I was also quite certain that they would rent it.
The next day she rang me back. First she told me that she could not believe someone would do what I had done. She said it was truly the nicest thing anyone had ever done for her. However, she chose not to rent it as she was concerned they may not be able to buy it in a few years and she wanted security. I understood completely and was amazed that what I thought was such a simple offer had had such an impact! This impact was confirmed when my neighbour (her best friend) told me that my offer had lifted her friend out of depression that was setting in. Wow! The offer was simply for the offer so that this lady could be blessed. Love how Papa works.
Had to accept at this point that I had probably heard wrong about contracts in 6 weeks (unless it meant 6 weeks from accepting an offer) but that was fine, I know I don't always hear right and sometimes my desires get in the way. I wanted contracts in 6 weeks. I wanted everything sorted quickly so that I knew it was done and I could sort out all the other stuff I needed to do with ease. Papa knew my wants but he also knew what would be best for me and that was his plan!
Of course, this now meant that I still had a house I needed to sell and thankfully I had another asking price offer within about a week of the first one falling through. Wow! Would contracts be done in 6 weeks? My solicitor said they could be but it was not to be, 9 weeks later I was still waiting and all sorts of hurdles had been raised in the process.
Finally, in the 10th week I finally had a phone call saying that the buyers mortgage had been approved and we could go ahead. The following Monday I got a message from my solicitor saying the mortgage had come in the wrong name but as soon as that was sorted we would be ready to go. I spoke to the estate agents who had arranged the mortgage and gave them a deadline, a week on Friday to complete or I would withdraw from the sale. Two days later we had a letter from the buyers solicitor asking for new information that could take 4-6 weeks to obtain. Aaarggh!
At this point I was a little frustrated as it seemed like everything that could possibly delay this sale had and there was only about 6 weeks until I left the country and I had lots to do once the house was completed. However, I felt Holy Spirit say I should trust for my contracts to complete the next Friday, at the point he said this it looked impossible from a human perspective but I decided to declare and believe truth. Not easy! It was made harder as I believe that Holy Spirit said that God loves the 11th hour, that is the last moment to do anything, as that builds our faith.
The estate agents had told me that completion generally needs to be arranged 5 working days in advance so that funds can be organised, so to me, the next day was the 11th hour (the Friday before the Friday I wanted to complete). Just before close of business on the Friday my solicitor rang, my 11th hour. The issue with the mortgage name had been resolved but not the additional information question, though there was a fairly good chance this could be done on the Monday. We left it that she would ring me Monday and confirm whether we could still complete on Friday, thankfully the mortgage provider of the buyer did not need 5 days to arrange funds. It was looking looking more positive!
Late on Monday evening, bless my solicitor for working late, I received an email saying that the paperwork issue had been resolved and the buyer was keen to complete on Friday. Woohoo!! However, the buyer still needed to return the signed mortgage deed and pay their deposit before contracts could be exchanged and completion arranged. She would keep me informed, it may or may not be Friday.
By the Thursday morning I had heard nothing but as I was driving to Huntingdon I was singing Oceans or more specifically the lines:
"Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders, let me walk upon the waters wherever you would call me, take me deeper than my feet could ever wander where my faith is made much stronger in the presence of my Saviour"
As I was singing I felt Holy Spirit say to think about what I was singing and then say that I should expect my faith to be stretched when I asked for it. I have been singing these words over and over recently and he showed me that the ups and downs I was seeing with the house was my answer. Wow! For a brief moment I thought I might not sing it any more but it did not last very long, I was soon singing it again!
I still had no idea whether we would complete the next day but I was determined to believe what Holy Spirit had spoken to me, it would happen. Woohoo!! God is so good. About lunchtime on that Thursday I had an email saying we had exchanged contracts and we would complete the next day. Wow! Though I had to wait until the 11th hour to find out, God was faithful and we did complete last Friday.
I am so thankful that Papa is always faithful but I am also grateful that he knows what I need to grow in each and every situation I face. There were times when I wondered if I had got it all wrong, especially when I did not get contracts in 6 weeks but the truth is Holy Spirit leads us in ways that maximise our growth, even when we do not quite hear it all clearly and let our own desires get in the way. Wow! Love how God works! Love how he knows how each situation will challenge and grow me and has patience with me in it!
Thanks for reading, hope it was encouraging!
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