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| Our North Tacoma home... come visit! |
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The Story of Our Moving to Tacoma: The picture above left was one that caught my eye on Craigslist about a month ago - it was a single shot of what looked to me to be a storybook kind of home... I saw puffs of pink and blue shooting out the chimney as fairies argued inside over the color of Aurora's gown - are you picking up what I'm laying down? I loved this home instantly... but the rent was much more than what we felt comfortable spending in the coming year. Furthermore, it was in Tacoma, we were 'planning' to move to Bainbridge Island. Therefore it was only in a wishful moment that I engaged the idea and would return to the posting wondering what scenario could possibly end in this being our home... all of it seemed so far-fetched and, well, weird.
Bainbridge Island has been in our cross hairs for a long time. We've figured it inevitable that we would one day live there because it's a wonderful place to raise a family, it's close to the airport and Kyle's folks have lived there since '87 - it'd be WONDERFUL to have family close by and the kids would love to grow up near their grandparents and, let's be honest, we move a lot. Yet as I searched listings and booked appointments with landlords and property management companies, the homes were getting rented right out from underneath me. Consequently, I decided to wander back to the wonderful, dreamy picture of the aforementioned North Tacoma home and email for 'more pictures'. I mentioned we were a young family with a dog looking to move to the Tacoma area -- and that was when the awesomeness began.
The owners of the home have lived there for 30 years, raised three boys in the Lord (who are now Kyle and I's age) and since the beginning have rented out the 2-bedroom suite in the basement to UPS students - this was the first summer that no students applied to live there. Mr. and Mrs. S. considered then to open the house in its entirety to professors and families moving into the area as a place of transition and they could try living in their cabin full-time - little to no interest from anyone at the University... then one night, Mrs. S. woke in the middle of the night and said to Mr. S. 'we are not supposed to rent it to students or professors! there is a young family that will want to rent the house!' So they posted on Craigslist and lo and behold, I saw it the day it was posted... and pursued it not more than a couple days later.
From the beginning we addressed the cost of living with Mr. and Mrs. S. and considered prayerfully the idea of completely setting the idea of living in this home aside because of it - and one night we did. We had driven down, met Mr. and Mrs. S., fell in love with them and they with us... the kids immediately had a set of honorary grandparents and as we parted Kyle and I promised to spend the next couple days praying and asking God for clarity - we would give them a definite answer in a couple days. When I woke the next morning, I was alarmed and sickened by how clearly God was asking me to 'let go' of this dreamy home with all its wonderful pieces - (a mile from Dusty and Jenny Haferbecker, walking distance to the kids' school, walking distance to grocery stores, a semi-furnished home which furthers our mission of 'being portable' and allowing us to sell most of our belongings and a safe neighborhood for when Kyle was traveling) - and so I did. I set it aside. A day later, Kyle emailed our regrets to Mr. and Mrs. S - we shared with them our need to be obedient with our budget and that it was no reflection on how valuable their home was. This was not an attempt to negotiate over cost - we loved meeting them and we prayed for a family to find them! I sobbed that evening in Kyle's arms - a mix of every emotion, I'm sure. But above all, the releasing of something that seemed so good and perfect for us...
Mr. and Mrs. S responded with a heavy heart - that they truly believed we were meant to be in their home and that God had brought our families together. They were appreciative of our concerns and met them head on -- they offered rent at $10 under what God had laid on Kyle's heart since the beginning of our hunt for houses. We were ecstatic at how God had handed back to us what we had released to Him... and with greater joy than I could have imagined, we responded with an affirmative YES, we would LOVE to live in your home.
A week or so later, we unloaded the kids on my dear friend, Cheney, and Kyle and I made the trek down to sign the contract and put the deposit down. It was absolutely wonderful sipping coffee and laughing with this couple that had become a part of our lives at the hand of an awesome and FUN God. We spent two and half hours with them and looked forward to the next time we'd catch up. As we drove from our new home to Dusty and Jenny's home to give a quick hug and say 'goodnight' before leaving town, we drove past a gentleman pulling kids out of a minivan -- at 9:00pm it was getting dark and what I thought was Kyle being a little 'creepy' was actually Kyle slowing the van because he recognized it to be his roommate from 12 years ago... he rounded the next corner and asked me to verify that it was indeed Andy Collins pulling kids from a minivan. I mustered up my confidence and yelled down the block... it was! It was Andy! We hadn't seen him since his wedding some 10 years ago in which Kyle was a groomsman -- his wife is wonderful and now they have two beautiful children. We stood on the sidewalk, in front of their North Tacoma home, laughing at God's continued affirmation that this was indeed His plan for us -- He was already surrounding us with community.
And so here we are... packing up - but not a lot! and preparing for the coming move. While grieving the loss of what He's had us a part of here in this area, we are reveling in the continued unveiling of His plan for our family.
