No thankfulness challenge could be complete without telling the story of my house from September, 2005.

This story is one of my favorites to tell.  God gave me a house.  Don’t misunderstand; I have a mortgage – so technically I am paying for it.  But there is no way I could be in this situation without God’s miraculous provision.

Point 1: God brought it to me.  I didn’t go looking.

I had talked to a realtor a couple of different times, but it wasn’t possible for me to buy a house.  So I accepted that I would be renting for years to come.  I was content.  God had given me a good apartment and a good landlord.

One evening after work I had a message from the realtor I talked to before.  She told me there was a new first time home buyer program.  She wondered if I would be interested.  In my mind I thought, “Sure, nothing will happen, but it will be good experience.”  Well, about 5 weeks later I closed on my house.

Point 2:  God made the impossible, possible.

I had left a job suddenly in May, was unemployed for about 7 weeks, and only had unemployment benefits 4 of those weeks.  Then I started a new job in July that was a lot lower pay.  I didn’t think a bank would give me financing with that financial picture.  However, the bank was willing to give me the financing and I could manage the small down payment that was expected.

Point 3:  God laid out each step to make my path clear.

Monday afternoon I went to see several houses – there were two of interest.  On Wednesday we went to a couple more – including a little green house that had only been put on the market that day.  I had a coworker with me that day.  He looked over the house with an experienced eye and made some positive comments.  I was rapidly falling in love with this house. The other two I had been interested in paled in comparison.  I knew I wanted to place an offer.  The next day my offer was excepted.

From the timing of my job change, to the financing, to the timing of my house coming on the market – God clearly made this happen.

This is my home sweet home.