Right Place — Right Time

“You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you just might find, you get what you need”
— Rolling Stones

Anyone who has purchased a house knows it is not for the faint of heart. We are currently on our third house as a family and have been extremely fortunate landing in the exact place we needed to be, at exactly when we needed to be there – the right place at the right time. That does not mean the process was what we expected or wanted for that matter, but is it ever? By nature, I become emotionally invested in these places and things, sometimes to a fault. They are more than a house, a building, a shell to me, but a place to remember loved ones and build memories. A place to make your mark in hopes it will bring joy to you and those you share it with piece by piece. I have always enjoyed decorating and I love a good project (and we won’t discuss the holiday hoarding condition, that may or may not be a real problem.) It is definitely an outlet for me and absolutely genetic, so I’m only taking part of the blame.

In general, the struggle to find balance between taking it day by day and planning for the future is real, but especially with a medically-dependent child or family member. The need for storage and space…and outlets…is serious yall. So when it was time to start looking into the future for our next family home, I knew it was going to be a lengthy process, little did I know just how lengthy it would be. First, let me make something clear, this is pretty much Hayes’s world and we just live it in and I wouldn’t have it any other way. What Hayes wants he gets, he doesn’t half ass anything and he has great taste…which is also genetic, and I will take credit here. Because he is wheelchair bound and only getting bigger, accessibility for him was one of our top priorities, along with being able to accommodate the equipment and people involved. We also wanted our home to be a place people could gather, where Hayes could be in the middle of the action — he does love a party. We have pretty much already established an open door policy, so unless you’re Jason Momoa or delivering wine, or both, don’t ring the doorbell, and don’t think I didn’t seriously consider putting in a revolving door because of all the people coming in and out of our house…well, pre COVID under “normal” circumstances. So, we start the search and the research. Look at a lot of houses, talk to a lot of people and think we have figured out what we “need.” It just really started to feel like there wasn’t anything out there for us. Do we build, do we move cities, do we adjust budget, do we stop looking? After well over a year of on and off looking we find a house and actually put in an offer, but we don’t get it. I was so disappointed. But God. Let me say that again — but God. He had a house in the same neighborhood, waiting for us the entire time we were looking, getting it to the price we needed it to be and at the exact time we needed it. It was definitely an “ah ha” moment. During renovations of our new home, the previous house we put an offer on was struck by lightning and almost burned to the ground. Thankfully no one was hurt, but I couldn’t help but think that it could have been us. If what I wanted — what I thought was going to be best for our family — had happened, how different the outcome could have been. It still sends chills up my spine thinking about it and seeing the house on my runs.

Sometimes God’s timing makes things easier for us in the long run, a smoother path, and saves us from heartache, and sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes His timing sets us on a totally different path than what we expected. But one thing I do know, and have to constantly remind myself, is that His timing is always perfect. It’s almost always easier to see that as truth looking back, but what if we could hold tight to that truth during the process. Oh the worry it would save us. Have faith remembering that He has us at the right place at the right time.

Ecclesiastes 3