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Reflections

For the first time in almost two years, I missed a deadline last week and a guest article appeared in this column. The following article was intended for that day. Reading it will help you understand what was going on in my life! pm

The Miracles (?) of March 3

March 3 is an ordinary day for you, but for me, a very significant day. Fifteen years ago, on March 3, marks the first time we actually bought a house for ourselves. We moved from parsonage to parsonage for twenty years. The board arranged for us to purchase our last parsonage, a very nice home, but not one we had chosen.

But fifteen years ago, we bought this house for our home. These have been happy years; many memories are formed inside the four walls we call home. As I am writing this article (on February 26), the rooms are empty. The only thing left in the house is the computer and its accessories.

After these fifteen years, we knew it was time to downsize. Stairs, easily maneuvered previously, seem steeper. Rooms, previously filled on special occasions, were often empty because entertainment took too much effort.

Knowing the time for change had come was one thing, but knowing what to do was another—until we attended an open house across the street from our daughter. The house was older and smaller but it felt like it could be home. We signed for the house within a week—on January 10.

After we had signed the contract, reality settled in. We hadn’t considered the flat housing market. Four other houses were for sale in our neighborhood, and had been for some time. Houses do not sell well in January, and moving is hard in the winter.

I would wake up at night with a heavy heart, wondering what we had gotten ourselves into. Doubts came: had we prayed enough, had we used good business sense, and many similar thoughts. Then we began asking friends to pray.

I thought often of the children of Israel. They were called out of Egypt; they just didn’t know about the wilderness they would go through. I felt very much like I was walking in a wilderness.

Then I remembered we had bought our old house on March 3. My prayers took focus: “Lord, let us be out of this house by March 3.” I like it when answers to prayers come wrapped in neat packages. But February 3 came and went with no sale, so I lost faith for scheduling a closing within 30 days.

We received an offer a few days later, a reasonable one contingent upon early closing—February 29. We accepted and the furor began. We were definitely in the wilderness now, surrounded by many unknowns. But I kept thinking of Joshua and Caleb, who believed the promises of God. 

To end this narrative quickly, let me list some things that seem like unusual provisions of God’s grace. I will leave it to theologians to define miracles.

First, the 20-year-old house needed painting throughout. I had a painter on standby but the week we needed him, he was out of town. My daughter, a professor at Evangel University, lined up college students who did most of the painting in one day.

Second, the house needed new floor coverings. The first company scheduled and rescheduled the carpet laying. Finally it seemed we would have to move our furniture in on old carpet. A friend recommended another company who got new carpet down the day before the movers came, at a more reasonable price.

Third, downsizing means getting rid of furniture. In addition to our two daughters who took a lot of the excess, several people were blessed by pieces we could not use.

Fourth, a friend who had a seasonal layoff from work came into our lives on January 29. He had lived in our city a couple of years but we had not seen him. He helped us throughout the move, giving him work at a time he needed it.

Fifth, the timing of the sale had an interesting side to it. Interest rates dropped on March 1, so we received a higher rate of interest on the small surplus from our sale by investing it on February 29 instead of March 3. God’s ways surely are above ours.

Addendum:

This article didn’t get completed in time to post the first week of March, but I still wanted to share it…to encourage anyone who needs God’s provision and guidance. Surely, God cares for His people and is interested in the details of our lives.

We are in the new house, but not perfectly settled. (Remember the children of Israel fought many battles after they were in the Promised Land.) We continue to trust the Lord; He has helped us thus far, so we believe He will continue to be with us.

PEGGY MUSGROVE is a licensed Assemblies of God minister. She is also a speaker, freelance writer, author and prayer group leader. Her latest book, Musings of a Maraschino Cherry was released in 2004.. You can visit her at www.musgroveville.com.

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