A house on a hill…..
Wouldn’t it be just like God to take us from the lowest of low, and set us on the highest of high?
After much prayer, we have found our spot….a beautiful lot that happens to be the highest point of our little town. The lot came available literally the day after I saw my Shepherd’s reminder that I shall not want or worry. The Lord would meet our every need. The back story is the part that amazes me……
In 2005, our family moved from a quaint, “perfect” little life in Dallas to small town, Llano, Texas. I had never lived in a small town before. My husband truly felt God’s prompting, so he quit his job and sold our home. All doors opened, through prayer, and we left our comfort to an unkown, strange new place. As a Classical Violinist, I was definately stepping out in faith. I actually had a friend tell me “I really don’t think this is God’s will for your life.” I remember thinking how odd it was that someone else presumes to know what God thinks about my life……
After we closed on the house, we discovered (undisclosed to us) that we had bought the town’s “flooded house”. What is worse, we had been lied to and cheated by the entire real estate transaction. We were stuck in a worthless house that took all of our money. Then, a pipe broke and flooded out the house, and our house became a mucky mess. The house was a dirty, falling apart fixer-upper that proved to be a testing of our faith.We moved 4 times in 2 years, with weariness of faith and shattered dreams. We left everything on faith to move to Llano, which ended up in an unending, daily trial just to keep a smile on my face. There is way more to the long, ridiculous story of the flooded house , but this is the shortened blog version. 🙂
Stuck in the muck…..with that certain friend reminding me “See, I told you this wasn’t God’s will for your life.”
Wow…………………..
How is it that when things go bad, we immediately question God’s will? As if His will is the magical little yellow brick road that leads to perfect, happy, Pintrist little lives. Jesus questioned, and begged God to release Him from the agony of the cross, but was still willing to complete God’s Will. Paul begged God three times to remove the “thorn in his side”, but the answer was always no. God is not a magic genie. There is a bigger picture than our momentary happiness, and our perfection in life. All through history, people desire the easy way., but most of the time, life is complicated and tough. Our story is no different. It has been a hard, faith-building, beautiful trial that felt as if it would never end. When I started to envy others, I reminded myself of the underground church in China. Christians literally die for their faith….and I am ashamed at my Americanism of putting my hope in a beautiful house.
All that I have is the Lord’s, and we came to accept that God would give us our next step….whatever it was.
So it was, that in October on my husband’s birthday, 13 years after buying the town’s flooded house, our house flooded and we lost everything. “He gives and takes away. My heart will choose to say Blessed e the name of the Lord.”
In 2005, I claimed some verses for the little flooded house (which is what we called our home). Now, I am amazed at how God has honored those prayers.
“I waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit. Out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth—- Praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and will trust in the Lord.” -Psalm 40:1-3
I didn’t wait patiently…..but I prayed for patience. I didn’t sing new songs at times…..but I had beloved friends speak truth to me…”Keenan, where is your faith?!!!!” I didn’t always praise the Lord while in the midst of losing everything…..but somehow, the Lord still loves me enough to set my feet upon a rock that overlooks our town. He took us out of the miry clay, as the flood engulfed our home, and rescued us. Many have seen the Lord at work, and through His faithfulness, our Community has been strengthened and cleansed, giving way to beauty and hope.
The Lord has given us a house on a hill…..only by the His doing. I will stand in amazement, and speak of His mercies and His faithfulness for all my days.
Merry Christmas, my friends. May you be a light to your family and friends this Season.