We have a contract!!!!!

I know I should not be surprised by God's faithfulness.... but I am.  I have continued to be amazed over and over again, not simply by his faithfulness, but that he is faithful even in the little details.  Here are some of those details: 

1. We had been praying very specifically that we would have an answer about our house by June 15th.  We knew that by the middle of June, we would need to be figuring out other options if our house was not going to sell in order to cover the cost of our mortgage.
2. We were not sure how we were going to store our stuff, but we were trusting God to work out that detail.

Well.... in his wonderful way, the Lord killed both of those birds with one stone (so to speak :-)).  Some good friends of ours, Tim & Susan Tucker (Tim works with Mark at Cannon & Cannon), approached Mark on Friday, June 8th and said they would like to come look at our house.  We were surprised that they were interested, but welcomed them to come take a look.  They came the following day and again on Monday, June 11th.  They said they were really interested, but would like a week to pray about the decision.  We were happy to give them that time, knowing that they were not making a quick decision, but really seeking wisdom.  So, on June 15th, Mark went to Atlanta for his wilderness medical training and on his way home on June 17th, Tim called and said that they would like to buy our house!!!!!  HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!  It was a great phone call!!  Item number 1, check!  We've been in discussion for the last several weeks with them working out a contract, having inspections, etc., but as of today, we officially have everything signed (and the for sale sign is now longer in our yard!!)

The Tuckers have a home they are trying to sell in Hardin Valley (it's a great house if you know of anyone looking in that area.... we can connect you), so they are going to lease our house until theirs sells-- then they will buy ours.  In the meantime, and until we return from Guatemala, they are graciously letting us store our belongings in our/their basement!  Check off item number 2!!!  Some items that are really large, they are even letting us leave as is (like the massive picnic table Mark built me for our 10th anniversary and the baby grand piano that has been in our family for quite some time!!)  Those items they are going to babysit for us and we'll retreive all such items when we return from our little excursion to Central America.

This house is certainly a major thing that is really hard for me to let go of... it has been in my family for 45 years.  It is where I was born and raised and I brought two of my own babies home to this house.  It is really a great house and has filled our minds with many happy memories.  But, again, the Lord has made it SO VERY CLEAR to us that selling this house is His leading... so we follow.  In that knowledge, I have to trust that His plans for our life are better than my plans.  I could really try hard to make my plans work, and that might turn out okay, but HIS PLANS WILL ALWAYS BE BETTER!!!  We are so thankful for the Tuckers and we are prayerful that their time living in this home will be blessed with many years full of happy memories.