Today is day seven since we officially put our home up for sale.

For a couple of years now, my husband Chris and I have been saying that we need to downsize and get a smaller one-story home.  Our home has served us well and we love friends, neighbors and the neighborhood, but it’s time to move.

In July, we contacted a realtor in our neighborhood.  For four and a half years, we’ve watched Lily’s work.  We’ve seen the difference in people’s homes who’ve gone with our realtor and those who have used other realtors.  When we had a question on remodeling decisions, she freely gave her advice on what buyers like.  When the time came to sell our home, we contacted Lily.

Over the last 6 weeks, Chris and I have been working to get our house ready to put on the market.  I can’t tell you the number of trips we’ve made to Good Will, or how much we’ve given away or thrown away or how many trips we’ve made to put things in storage to make sure our home is clutter-free.  We’ve had handymen in to take care of some odds and ends repairs.  We have thoroughly cleaned our home and worked in the garden.  We wanted to get our home ready, not only to sell but also prepare it for new owners.

Family and friends have assured us that our home will likely sell quickly and that is what we are praying and hoping for.

This last weekend, we had our first open house.  I had big expectations that we would get a lot of people coming to see the home and that perhaps we’d even have offers.

We had five families that came to see our home.  They said it was clean and well maintained.  Some people thought the yard was too small and some raised concerns about living near power lines.  It didn’t seem like anyone was eager to buy our home.  We’ve had no realtors contact us to set up a viewing for their clients.

Can I confess…I was disappointed!  Disappointed because I had the wrong perspective.

Since then, the Lord has been reminding me daily that everything, including the sale of our home, is firmly and fully in His control.  Our home will sell when He brings the people that He wants to be the next owners and not before then.

If our home had sold on the first open house, I would have been attributing the success to our realtor.  Or being prideful and thinking that all our hard work had paid off.

No matter what…whether it’s a quick sale or something that takes a while, the sale of our home will be the Lord’s work.

Each day…I go through a routine of getting our house ready just in case we get a call that somebody wants to see it.  I vacuum our house top to bottom.  Counters and bathrooms are cleaned, furniture, shutters, and blinds are dusted.  Once a week, I’m thoroughly cleaning each area or zone.

While I’m cleaning, I’m praying for the family who will buy our home.  Perhaps they don’t even live in Texas yet but will be making a move here.  Maybe they are trying to sell their home and are waiting to look for a new home until it does.  I’m praying that they will be the right family for our neighbors and neighborhood.  If they have children that they will have an easy transition into new schools and make good friends.  That the husband and wife will agree on what they want in a home and for wisdom in making decisions and for their finances.  That perhaps the changes and improvements we’ve made to our home will be something that they will enjoy.

All the efforts from our realtor and our hard work to get our house ready and keep it ready are good and necessary.

During this time, we’ve looked at homes and have a better idea of what want to buy and where we want to live.  So, it’s not been a waste of time.  Perhaps the Lord’s timing is different than what we had hoped for because the right home for us is not on the market yet.

While I may not know why there is a delay in selling our home, I know that it’s perfectly in the Lord’s control, timing and plan.  On those days, when I get tired or have doubts…I have to remind myself to trust the Lord, know He is good and that He has a good and perfect plan that He is working out.  I can trust and depend on God while we are waiting.