Stewards

Originally, I was going to title this “I Am Not Telling Anyone Anything Anymore!”

Moving to our new house has been in the forefront of our thoughts and conversation, lately. Every one of us is looking forward to moving. Apparently things were going a little too well, a little too smoothly, so a giant wrench was thrown into the process and now we do not know if the house we fell in love with is going to become ours…

The news was heard about an hour before our home inspection scheduled for last night, which I had to cancel.

We have an FHA loan, as first-time homebuyers. The seller covers the closing costs and the 3% down payment. Often, to get the seller to agree to do this, you offer more than the asking price, so that they end up with the amount they are comfortable with. The problem we have run into is that the FHA appraiser said they will not appraise the home for the amount we offered. So now we have asked the seller to take less. If they don’t want to do that (and who can blame them), then we must either start over or try to get a different kind of loan, which means going through all the pre-approval business from scratch.

To say this was disappointing would be an understatement. It isn’t over yet, but it is a reminder that we are not in control. This whole year has been a giant reminder that we are not in the driver’s seat and that is actually the way it is supposed to be.

If you are not a Christian, this will probably not make any sense to you, but it does to me. I understand it, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it. God gives us things to take care of—-big things, like the Earth, the land, the resources. Our families, our homes, our time, talents, our bodies, minds, and money.

A person who realizes that they have been given precious gifts will not abuse the gifts. They will take care of natural resources, using them wisely and replenishing them. They will make wise financial decisions. They will treat the physical body with care and will not consume harmful things. They will make sure that those with less are cared for and shown love. In other words, they will be good stewards of everything in their lives. In every decision they strive for wisdom.

So, last night as I was taking a shower, attempting to wash away the shoulder knots and worry, I began to think of where all of this home-buying business fits into our lives and our lives as caretakers of what God has given us. I remembered that God wants us to succeed in being good stewards and the events in our lives help teach us how to be more responsible. Perhaps, I thought as I let the water beat on my clenched muscles, this was one of those infamous blessings in disguise…

Either way, with a different kind of loan or a lowered price, we will be paying less than originally agreed upon. That’s good.

And if we don’t get this house (which I admitedly really love at this point, I had already mentally moved-in), there will be another house. We are lucky enough to live in an area where there are thousands of homes for sale on any given day and I am not foolish enough to think this is the only house for us.

Still, with all this justification, it isn’t easy anticipating another huge disappointment. We are supposed to know today what the sellers think of the crazy plan to give them less money. I want the process to be fair to everyone, including the seller. The most important thing for me to remember is that our dream shouldn’t be unfair to people we have only met on paper. They have dreams too, and gifts they must be stewards of as well.

The gifts are seeming to collide right on top of my heart.