Summer Prayers: Lord, thank you for my address!

It’s July.

It’s hot.

We are nearing the end of summer vacation as early August looms and kids return to school. Pools are now tepid instead of refreshing. The air conditioning is struggling to keep up. Sweat coats the skin just by stepping outside in temperatures nearing 100 degrees.

Summer is losing some of her charm for nearly everyone,

including people still trying to sell their homes.

Everyone knows the best time to sell is spring. Houses look their best as winter doldrums roll away and flowers begin to bloom. Families make decisions to buy in spring so they can move their families in summer and have their kids delivered to a new bus stop on the first day of school in the fall.

But for some families who wanted someone to buy their house this summer, it didn’t happen. Buyers skipped them for such reasons as:

• Countertops weren’t right.
• Kitchen was too small.
• Only three bedrooms upstairs instead of four.

We were one of those families. Our house didn’t sell.

We did have one contract but the buyer backed out just hours before the due diligence period ended.

Painful.

It’s July.

It’s hot.

In this heat, no one worked harder than my husband to make our yard an oasis. My husband trimmed trees and bushes by himself while his son braced the ladder from below.

As a result, our yard has never looked better. Any home inspector would be proud to measure at least 18 inches between our home and any piece of greenery on our land.

Perfection.

In March we had loaded up a POD thinking we would see it next when it was delivered to our new home. Instead, the POD returned to our driveway this week as a symbol of dashed dreams. What my husband loaded in March he unloaded back into our garage and shed.

Heartbreaking.

We thought we heard the Lord. We absolutely needed to sell our house. We stepped out in faith with our best efforts.

But God said no, at least so far.

And we are okay. We really are.

You see, God picks our address. People think they pick, but God does:

From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. – Acts 17:26 (NIV)

He decides where our family lives on any given day.

God picked this home 18 years ago.

And He continues to pick it again for this year, or so it seems, and that is okay.

We bow the knee to what we don’t understand…

because of what we do understand.

• God is good.
• God is perfect.
• God knows the best place for us to live for His Story.
• God was so pleased by all we did in faith this summer.

We made Him smile when He saw us trusting Him.

So until further notice, when I think about it, I will pray…as we all should pray for our homes…

Lord, thank you for my address.

Help me live well here until it’s your time to take us away.

Pictures: Yesterday a gathering of Christians occurred on the mall in Washington, D.C. to pray for our nation, to worship, to repent of our sin and call for revival. I watched the live-stream. When the founders of If took the stage and prayed a prayer of repentance, I found myself on my face in my office with tears streaming down my face. (I want a copy of that prayer.) Later I was on my knees in Georgia with everyone in D.C. when Louie Giglio had us kneel in silence…and repentance. I am so grateful for the gift of freedom of speech in our country. I am so grateful we are allowed to gather and live-stream God proclaiming messages and God honoring prayers.

May God bless America.

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