Our Journey to the Promised Land

Genesis 12:1, "Now the Lord said unto Abram, Get out of your country, from your kin, and from your house, and go to the land I will show you."

Genesis 12:4,8, "So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken...and Abram journeyed..."

Genesis 13:14-18, "And the Lord said unto Abram... lift up your eyes and look to the north, south, east, and west, for all the land which you see I have given you and your children...arise and walk through the land, the length and the depth, for I have given it all to you...and Abram praised the Lord."





In August, we really felt strongly that God was leading us to sell our house before winter hit our area. We listed it in September and prepared for a few long months of people touring our house, with the real estate market being as it is right now. We were pleasantly surprised when our house sold the first part of October. We weren't exactly sure what our next step was... we had strongly considered building something small on the land that my parents own. We prayed and discussed the options, but when it came down to it, neither of us felt a peace about building right now. I thought, "oh, great. now we're homeless!" We discussed looking at houses on the market since everyone claims that it is a "buyer's market" right now. We went through several potential houses, but they were either nasty, run down, a bad location, or would require a lot of work. I began to get a bit discouraged. Then, on our second day of house hunting, we went into a house that I really liked instantly. It was cute, had its own unique charm, had a perfect location for us, and had already been mostly remodeled. It had all kinds of wonderful features... a big picture window, a wood burning fireplace, big bedrooms, a cute sunroom... I started to get excited, but it was out of our price range, and the owners had already dropped it once! We considered our options again, and in the meantime, Sunday rolled around and we went to church. In a plan that only God could have orchastrated, we missed Sunday school and church because we had the three-year-old nursery when the workers called in sick. When we were reviewing the lesson, it was about Abram following God, even when he had no idea where to go. I was immediately struck by the parallel... Abram felt like he should get out from where he was, and he started a journey, and had no idea where he was going, but God provided. God spoke to me in a lesson planned for three-year-olds (no wise cracks, please)! My hope was renewed that the same God would provide for us that provided for Abram. On Monday, we placed a low offer on the house that we loved, knowing that it was far less than what the owners expected, and not anticipating it to work out, but trying it anyway. We were prepared to counter offer a little higher if they turned us down, but not much. Today we got a call that they took our first offer, no questions asked. We couldn't be more thrilled. So, the pictures above our the Beckner's new house as of November 21. Thank you, Lord, for always providing for us so faithfully!