Housing

One way in which I am thankful to be writing these stories is because they document God's Faithfulness to us during this move. I have seen God's hand move through this housing situation by closing doors and opening others.
Josh has been on this island for about a month now and has looked at many houses. Many houses. Since I've been here, I've looked at a good number as well. We never found "the house" (which is an important element, I think, if you're ever going to enter into such a huge financial agreement - you kind of have to like the house a little bit...just a little..  ;)  ). There were other issues as well that came into play - too much $$, not enough yard, too small, etc. Nothing was panning out.
We finally saw a house in Ewa Beach that looked incredibly promising. So we put an offer on it. We looked at several houses during that time, and also feeling the time crunch we're under, it seemed like the best option. Now the houses in Ewa Beach are nicer, newer and more of the mainland style of home. It seemed like a good neighborhood, was close to a shopping center (which I liked) and would fit our needs for right now.
Now here comes the fun part:
The day after we made the offer, our Realtor called us with some news. The sellers liked our offer and wanted to accept, but with some contingencies. When the Realtor told me the contingencies, I had a brief heart-attack. These were some things which were unfortunately affected by extenuating circumstances. I made several calls, but to no avail. I couldn't reach anyone I needed to. So I gave it to God. I asked Him to please close the door if this wasn't the house for us. The realtor called me back and said the sellers had accepted our offer with no contingencies. I was elated and so excited. It looked like the door was still open. Fast forward a few days and things changed again. A transaction that still needed closure ended up closing in an entirely different way that we expected. These results caused us to have to cancel our contract. Even though I was disappointed, I was so thankful that God clearly closed the door. Looking back now, I see the mercies in that door closure.
After we had to cancel, We went to base housing to put our names on the waiting list. Better to be safe than sorry I thought. I also sent an email to our former pastor's wife who is also a very dear friend asking for prayer over this situation - that God would provide a house, the house HE has for us, in his time. When we went to the housing office, they told us that they had one available mid-July. Mid-July worked perfectly with out timeframe. The house is also one of the bigger and newer complexes. Bigger and newer sounded good to us. They gave us the address and we went to go see it. The neighborhood looked nice, the houses looked nice and from the layout, it looked good. However, the yards were small and the houses were in a fourplex and the one they sent us to was right in the middle. We also weren't thrilled that every window you looked out was like looking into your neighbors window, especially from the front door. Josh was commenting as we drove by that it was too bad it wasn't an end unit, giving us more room for the pups and more of a yard. Again, I went to bed praying that if this was the house for us, He would make it known to us. And if it wasn't, that He would provide the house he wants us in. The next day we went back to resolve some more paperwork and we spoke with the lady again.
She informed us that she misspoke - the house she sent us to wasn't available until mid-August. But, she had another one available mid July. Same neighborhood, a couple streets down, Front door overlooks the park, AND....it is an end unit. Another blessing is that we had the weekend to think about it. We decided for right now, this is the absolute best option we have - and so we are going with it. I've sent a letter to the housing office, letting them know of our decision and we go from there.

Food for thought and first impressions

Came across this quote this morning:
“Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?”
― Corrie ten Boom

Too often I find myself relying on prayer as a spare tire. Often I feel like I am in communion with God as I reach out to Him all the time. That in and of itself may be a form of prayer but the real supplication, listening to His voice, the pouring out of my heart is something that is missing from my spiritual walk.
I am realizing the importance if this deep spiriual connection. It strengthens you. It uplifts you. It heals you. It connects you to God.
Before arriving in Hawai'i, I prayed for God to unsettle me. For 25 years I have lived in my comfort zone, never straying too far outside of it for long periods of time. On Tuesday, that changed forever. I stepped onto a plane and flew one way to Hawaii, our new duty station. I was excited. So very excited. Hawaii is a place people dream of going. Don't get me wrong, it is beautiful. But beneath the beauty, there is the smog of sin. The smog that is always there but not always seen. There is a spiritual darkness here and it becomes more and more evident as I walk the streets of downtown Honalulu and even in the oh so beautiful Waikiki.
I prayed for the Lord to unsettle me and that He did. The last 4 days have been a roller coaster of emotions ranging from anger, to excitement, to frustration, to joy, from wonder, to disappointment, and so on. I feel lost, like I don't belong. Like i don't fit in. Then I kick myself for feeling these things. I tell myself I should be stronger than this, that I should buck up and get over it. As the days progress, I am realizing that, unlike the tourists around me, I am not going to be getting on a plane heading home. This is my home now.
As we continue to look for houses and settle in, so many unknowns lie before me. But despite the unknowns, God is a known God. He never changes and has shown Himself faithful to me, despite my unbelief and unfaithfulness.

What I take away from this so far:
1) I MUST stay in the Word. I sense many spiritual battles up ahead and I MUST be ready for them. I must stay faithful in my walk with Christ and rely on his strength and not mine to get me through the days as week's ahead. I must relish in the times of peace and cling to scripture and God'd promises.

2) I am thankful that my first move is still withing the US. I know the language, driving will only take a short while to get used to, I can navigate easily. I think of people I know who made this first move pregnant while going to a completely different country and culture. They had to start from scratch to learn our American ways and assimilate to our way of life.

3) there is so much opportunity for spiritual growth. I feel unsettled and shaken up. But I feel God pulling this pieces together in a way that I have never felt before. I feel as if he will use those pieces and use me for His purpose.

4) I also feel there will be a lot of growth in my marriage. For the first tome, Josh and I are on our own. We are setting out on uncharted waters together. There will be ups and there will be downs, but if we rely on Jesus every step of the way, we will be victorious.

5) this is a good time for me to learn how to rest - to rest in Jesus. My main way of dealing with high stress situations is to ignore it until the very last minute and completely overwhelm myself. Or I start one million tasks, never finish one completely and then feel like a total failure in life. The beauty of this situation is that I only have to really focus on one thing -  Acclimating to Hawaii and I am learning to take it slow.

There are countless things for me to learn in the months and years ahead. In many ways I am excited to see how God will use this in my life. I feel that He has great things planned for Josh and Me. :)