I have big news- huge news: We bought our very first house! It’s a roomy three and a half bedroom two-story that fits all of our needs and more. She’s a little older and she needs a little work, but honestly, doesn’t that describe most of us? We have been praying for years for this, and as a single-income family, saving up for that initial downpayment in this economy has been slower than we anticipated, but it worked out exactly how it was supposed to.

Now to get a little deeper. I’ve always loved the idea of living out of town a little ways, surrounded by nature and having land to marvel at; to sit on a back porch and pray in the morning, latte in hand, surrounded by sky and trees and birds. I married someone who is amazing and wonderful and hilarious, but he is definitely a suburb/city guy. We have long since compromised on my farm-y dreams by determining to prioritize a nice backyard in the ‘burbs and my heart was truly content with that. Fast forward to the day we called our realtor and asked to tour this house, a house smack dab in the suburbs of the city we live in.

We walked in and it felt so right, so perfect, like a dream. I was hesitantly hopeful, the more we saw. A large place to have friends over? check. Bedrooms big enough for our girls to share? check. A small place to use as a guest room/office? check. We made our way upstairs and that’s when I saw it: proof of Ephesians 3:20, God being able to do far more abundantly than I had even thought to ask for. Our new house backs up to a glorious, peaceful, flood zone. It’s green and wild and full of trees and nature and it feels like home. The backyard is big enough to have a substantial garden and plenty of room for the kids to play. Another tiny miracle: it just so happens that I’ll be able to have chickens at this property. The little prayers and desires that I had let go in favor of more practical ones were even being answered with resounding glory to God. A true Father cared about the swamp. He cared about the three bedrooms and the down payment and the safe neighborhood, but He also cared about the chickens. God answered my prayers, even the ones I had given up on praying.