Guess what this week is! Sigh. It’s the anniversary of the day we found our dream house.
Yup, it can happen. How about we take a little trip down memory lane and then discuss how to wait for your dream house. Then, take a look at the inherent benefits that one can gain from the struggle of waiting.
I understand the struggle and will not soon forget it. We looked for ten years for a little piece of land to build a farmhouse and shop on. Little did we know that it would be a renovation project and not a new build.
But, it all worked out.
You can read the full story in Finding Our Way Home.
We actually got so tired of waiting that we unofficially gave up. You know what I mean? We just stopped talking about it.
Then, low and behold, one day I was at my friend’s house and randomly glanced over her fence to see an old, charming farmhouse situated smack dab in the middle of four sprawling acres.
It was love at first sight! The kids and I drove around to the front to get a better view and wouldn’t you know? There was a “For Sale” sign up!
Everywhere I looked our wishlist was gettting checked off.
Creek? Check.
Driving through apple trees? Check.
Circular driveway? Check.
Detached garage? Check.
Beehives? Seriously, beehives?? Check.
Clothesline? Check.
The inside was the same way!!
That was a Friday and we bought the place on Monday.
It has been a wild ride ever since, gutting the place and renovating for the last nine years. We figure every square inch in this place represents one hour of our lives. THAT kind of puts it into perspective.
I hope that our story encourages you, that somedays can happen and dreams can come true.
But, if you are in the middle of the waiting game right now, I have words of wisdom to share with you.
Time is gift, there are things to be doing right now while you wait.
Waiting For Your Dream House
- Take this time to pray. Pray for God’s will. Pray for His protection, pray for His guidance. Pray for His strength and contentment.
- Save your money. My husband and I are Dave Ramsey instructors and believe in debt free living. So, having a decade to prepare was a gift for us. Be strategic while you wait and keep squirreling money away for the when the time comes.
- Hone your DIY skills. Go ahead, learn to sew curtains and pillows, try slipcovering and upholstering. Get good at thrifting and painting. You won’t regret learning how to build and repair things on even the tiniest level.
- Dream big. My dreams were in the days before Pinterest, but I did have a huge binder with cut outs from home decor magazines! I had so many decisions made in advance that it took a lot of the stress out of the designs when we finally we able to start on the house. And believe me, it is still really stressful. You can check out my Pinterest boards, if you need to get started on ideas.
Now the REALLY encouraging part. What you will gain from this struggle. .
- Your wishlist will get crystal clear. I knew within minutes that we had found our place, barring no unforeseen inspection catastrophe. Being so confident in exactly what we wanted helped to make the decision effortless.
- You gain more confidence in your design and DIY skills, provided you have been honing them as mentioned above.
- Your gratitude will go through the roof! We all have had the experience of needing to wait for something and our joy increasing because of it. A dream is no different, this current house is so much more of a blessing than it would have been without the wait. The reason is because I now have something to contrast the joy to, I will never forget the suffering of the wait and it somehow magnifies the joy.
Watch this video to learn more!p
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So, what about you? Where are you at in this journey? And what have you gained from waiting? Let me know in the comments below, I love to hear your stories!
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