God has worked in my life in many ways, some small and some large. 1.5 years ago we experienced God's providence in a way that has left us humbled, grateful, and eager to share. I write this story not to glorify what we've done, but to glorify God and what He's done. I simply cannot share this story without mentioning how He has shown up. If you are to take anything from this story, let it be this: you can trust God with the inconsequential things in life, and the monumental things. He is always there, always listening, and always has a plan--oftentimes one that's far better than your own.

Here is the story of how we found our dream lake home through none other than Facebook Marketplace...

The story starts back in January 2022. You may know that at the beginning of 2022 Jackson and I were planning on building a home. We had found a lot that we LOVED, had a plan with a builder, and we ended up backing out within 2 days of when it was all supposed to move forward. If you would like to know the story of the house we almost built, let me know!

Long story short, Jackson and I both were feeling hesitations about the build due to inflation driving the costs up at an insane pace. Jackson and I agreed that we would sleep on it, and prayed that God would make His desire for us clear. That night neither of us got any sleep. Jackson, the man who can fall asleep in 5 seconds flat, was kept awake by God until 2am. I, the woman who *literally* won't even wake up if a bomb goes off, woke up with a pit in my stomach at 3am. God was saying "No."

At this point in the game we had already sold our house (sold in only 2 days!) and were planning to move into my parents for the duration of the build. When we backed out of building, we decided we'd give ourselves 6 months to find a house. If we hadn't found one in 6 months, we'd get an apartment while we continued searching. It was with this plan that we packed up our belongings, said goodbye to our home of 3.5 years, and moved into my parents home 30 minutes away.

I remember what happened next like it was yesterday.

It was the day before we handed the keys over to the new buyers of our house. We had spent our first night at my parents, and Jackson headed off to work while I planned to finish getting the house cleaned for its new owners. I had completely forgotten that that afternoon Jackson would be making a Facebook Marketplace deal to purchase a filing cabinet for his new office at work.

That afternoon I got a call from Jackson, and I will never forget what he said.

"Hi, so...check your texts. I think I just bought us a house."

When Jackson went to buy the filing cabinet, the house it was at was located in the same neighborhood we'd planned to build in. So, Jackson thought it couldn't hurt to put some feelers out there and asked the owner "if anyone you know of down here thinks of selling, could you give them my contact so I could at least chat with them first before it goes to market?" That's when the owner replied, "Well actually, my wife and I are going to be selling this place soon. Is this a place you'd be interested in?"

I wish I could have been there to see Jackson's face when he said that! I mean, what are the chances?

Jackson: "Yeah, we'd definitely be interested in this place. What would you be asking?"

Owner: *Gives price*

Jackson: "Would you mind if I took some photos and sent them to my wife? If she likes this place then you've got a deal."

This is where the phone call to me comes in. I took one look at the outside of the house and said "I don't care what it looks like on the inside. I want it, it's perfect."

Within a week we had a verbal agreement with the owners, and within two weeks we had a written agreement and were under contract.

I wish I could adequately share with you just how much of a God thing this whole experience has been. His fingerprints cover this whole journey, and we are so extremely grateful.

Here are a few reflections on this experience so far:

1. God waited to reveal the right home to us until after we had made the leap. He waited until we had moved out and didn't know where we would go. We had to take that leap and trust that He would provide--and He did.
2. God's plan is always better than our own. The house we were going to build would have been BEAUTIFUL. We were so excited about it and sad to let that plan go! But this house is superior in every way. It is almost as if this house was built and designed specifically with Jackson and I and our life in mind...almost as if God planned for it to be ours all along. When we said "no" to our new build, we were prepared to eventually purchase a house that wouldn't live up to what we had just turned down, when in reality we have been given so much more.
3. God has a plan for this home. This home is more than we could have dared to hope for, and we feel very lucky. But we are also very aware that God has a reason and a plan for why we are receiving this home, and we cannot wait to discover that over time. We want to see this home used for His purposes, not our own.
4. This house is not our forever home. No matter how long God may plan for us to be in this home, we know it isn't forever. Eternity is with God is the end goal, and a part of staying fixed on Him is having open hands with everything else He blesses us with. While we are so grateful for this home and praise Him for it, we know that we shouldn't allow it to become an idol in our lives. We must remain fixed on eternity.

Thank you so much for being here. Remember to always live life with open hands, and to stay rooted in Christ.

Katie xx