Just 7 months after my first wife Kari died, Fawn and I were married in the very kitchen that Kari and I had shared. It was a rather uncomfortable situation for everyone but it must have been so much harder for Fawn. The house and land hadn’t been her dream. When we married she was getting the leftovers of someone else’s dream.
From time to time we talked about selling. It seems whenever we got close to making that decision Fawn would be taken back by the picturesque views that she saw while hiking one of the many trails and she would be convinced we should stay. It was an emotional tug of war of sorts that I experienced along with her. I didn’t want her to feel like she was living someone else’s life. I wanted to give her something of her own. God had a plan in place.
At the beginning of 2014, the property next to ours went up for sale. At the time I was in school and we were saving every dime we had. As much as we dreamed of buying that property, we knew it wasn’t going to happen. But then I did something completely unexpected. During my spring break in early March I was convinced that I should quit school. As much as I knew I wanted to go the year prior, I now knew I should withdraw.
It wasn’t a day or two after this decision when it hit both Fawn and I. There was now nothing stopping us from buying the property next door. It could become ‘our’ dream. We called the realtor, hiked the property, and fell in love. Less than a week later we had an accepted offer.
Fawn and I loved the place and we went there often over the next several months. We painted the barn, burned brush, landscaped with big rocks, and planted flowers. Fawn sometimes went there after working all night to sleep in her hammock in the shade. She couldn’t get enough of the place. It was exactly what she needed. She now had something to call her own.
From time to time we talked about selling. It seems whenever we got close to making that decision Fawn would be taken back by the picturesque views that she saw while hiking one of the many trails and she would be convinced we should stay. It was an emotional tug of war of sorts that I experienced along with her. I didn’t want her to feel like she was living someone else’s life. I wanted to give her something of her own. God had a plan in place.
At the beginning of 2014, the property next to ours went up for sale. At the time I was in school and we were saving every dime we had. As much as we dreamed of buying that property, we knew it wasn’t going to happen. But then I did something completely unexpected. During my spring break in early March I was convinced that I should quit school. As much as I knew I wanted to go the year prior, I now knew I should withdraw.
It wasn’t a day or two after this decision when it hit both Fawn and I. There was now nothing stopping us from buying the property next door. It could become ‘our’ dream. We called the realtor, hiked the property, and fell in love. Less than a week later we had an accepted offer.
Fawn and I loved the place and we went there often over the next several months. We painted the barn, burned brush, landscaped with big rocks, and planted flowers. Fawn sometimes went there after working all night to sleep in her hammock in the shade. She couldn’t get enough of the place. It was exactly what she needed. She now had something to call her own.
THE VIEW FROM FAWN'S HAMMOCK.
Over the next several months we got busy with life and we went to the new property less and less. At this same time, God really started speaking to my heart. There were some needs that I wanted to support financially but I didn’t have as much money as I would have liked to give. Paying for the house along with this new property was a pretty substantial burden and it began to wear on me. Despite the financial burden we were under, we began to give more. We were now giving more than we had ever given and I often prayed that I find ways to give more.
Malachi 3:10 “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”
Finally it dawned on me; we need to sell the new property so we can give more. At the same time Fawn, who really, really loved the property came to the same conclusion. Neither one of us liked the idea but we felt like God was tugging at our hearts to do so. Honestly, it’s pretty amazing that we both came to this same conclusion at the same time without really talking to each other about it. God was definitely speaking to us.
We decided last fall that we would sell the property this spring when things started greening up. But during this time I did something else. I often prayed, “God, if you want us to keep the property supply the money we need to keep it. If you don’t, I know you want us to sell it.” As the year began I thought for sure we were going to be selling. Fawn and I both talked about how we didn’t want to. We even tried to talk our way out of it. But deep down we knew it’s what we needed to do.
With less than 6 weeks to go before making the dreaded phone call to the realtor, our first round of good financial news came in. And then another came in. And then another. On Tuesday March 15, on Fawn’s birthday, the most amazing present ever was given to us. Another piece of good financial news came in. I quickly calculated the positive financial changes that had happened in the last 6 weeks and the number was within 77 cents of the exact amount of our land payment. What are the chances? I was filled with so many emotions and I thanked God again and again.
On the way home from work that day God spoke to my heart. I felt deep within me that the 77 cents meant something. I quickly googled the meaning of the number 7 in the Bible and got these results: Divine completion, perfection, fullness, and totality. The number 7 comes from a Hebrew word meaning “to be full,” “to be satisfied,” and “to have enough.”
As I read these words tears began to flow down my cheeks. I knew God had tested us to see if we would listen. In a small way I felt a connection to Abraham. God told Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac but God didn’t really want Abraham to do it. He was testing Abraham’s faith. Would Abraham listen? Would he be obedient?
Just moments after I had read the meaning of the number 7, a song by Lauren Daigle started on my car stereo. The words were:
I see Your fingerprints
The work of Your hands
It's all in Your hands
I see the evidence
Leaving nothing to chance
The world's in Your hands
Tears began to flow even more. I was overwhelmed, shocked, blown away, and every other word that tries to describe an indescribable situation. Whether we accept it, deny it, or choose to ignore it, God is working in everything. There is no coincidence, chance, or luck. When you live for God, He is with you always. Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
No matter where you are at in your life or in your faith right now, give it all to God. You were created to worship Him. When we do what we were created to do, an inexpressible peace and joy fills our hearts. Seek Jesus with all that you have! John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Malachi 3:10 “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”
Finally it dawned on me; we need to sell the new property so we can give more. At the same time Fawn, who really, really loved the property came to the same conclusion. Neither one of us liked the idea but we felt like God was tugging at our hearts to do so. Honestly, it’s pretty amazing that we both came to this same conclusion at the same time without really talking to each other about it. God was definitely speaking to us.
We decided last fall that we would sell the property this spring when things started greening up. But during this time I did something else. I often prayed, “God, if you want us to keep the property supply the money we need to keep it. If you don’t, I know you want us to sell it.” As the year began I thought for sure we were going to be selling. Fawn and I both talked about how we didn’t want to. We even tried to talk our way out of it. But deep down we knew it’s what we needed to do.
With less than 6 weeks to go before making the dreaded phone call to the realtor, our first round of good financial news came in. And then another came in. And then another. On Tuesday March 15, on Fawn’s birthday, the most amazing present ever was given to us. Another piece of good financial news came in. I quickly calculated the positive financial changes that had happened in the last 6 weeks and the number was within 77 cents of the exact amount of our land payment. What are the chances? I was filled with so many emotions and I thanked God again and again.
On the way home from work that day God spoke to my heart. I felt deep within me that the 77 cents meant something. I quickly googled the meaning of the number 7 in the Bible and got these results: Divine completion, perfection, fullness, and totality. The number 7 comes from a Hebrew word meaning “to be full,” “to be satisfied,” and “to have enough.”
As I read these words tears began to flow down my cheeks. I knew God had tested us to see if we would listen. In a small way I felt a connection to Abraham. God told Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac but God didn’t really want Abraham to do it. He was testing Abraham’s faith. Would Abraham listen? Would he be obedient?
Just moments after I had read the meaning of the number 7, a song by Lauren Daigle started on my car stereo. The words were:
I see Your fingerprints
The work of Your hands
It's all in Your hands
I see the evidence
Leaving nothing to chance
The world's in Your hands
Tears began to flow even more. I was overwhelmed, shocked, blown away, and every other word that tries to describe an indescribable situation. Whether we accept it, deny it, or choose to ignore it, God is working in everything. There is no coincidence, chance, or luck. When you live for God, He is with you always. Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
No matter where you are at in your life or in your faith right now, give it all to God. You were created to worship Him. When we do what we were created to do, an inexpressible peace and joy fills our hearts. Seek Jesus with all that you have! John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
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