Blessings in Abundance

I just need to tell someone about the blessings God has been pouring out on my family lately. To me, they are HUGE! It has shown me clearly that God goes above and beyond when we wait, seek and desire God's plan. Has he answered every prayer in abundance? No. Sometimes He says NO clearly, and sometimes He says wait. I'm thankful for all the times He has made Himself clear. The times when He seems silent, I have spent on my knees in prayer patiently waiting on the Lord, knowing full well that He does not forget or stop loving His children.
Anyway, as a lot of you know, we moved into our current home 3 years ago this month with the intention of only living here about a year. We still had a home in Ann Arbor to sell so we rented this. We thought the home in A2 would sell quickly and we could start looking soon after it did. That is not what God had planned. He had so much to teach us through both this home and the home in A2. We finally sold the house in A2 2 years ago, and we are still in the little rental home. When we moved in, we had only 2 kids so a 3 bedroom 940 square foot home was actually quite sufficient, and believe it or not, bigger than our previous home.
We didn't even consider looking at homes for at least another year after we sold the A2 house. We had to sell it at a big loss and we needed to unload some debt first. So last March, we started to look for a larger home. We had Evan now and his space in the hallway was quickly getting small. Months passed and it seemed as though nothing was around that we really liked. I was beginning to think that my husband wasn't that interested in moving. Know what? He wasn't. As I said before, he grew up in impoverished conditions and our 940 sq ft. home was huge and wonderful to him. God had some working to do on my heart for sure. I especially knew it after a night at our small group. A more mature friend pulled me aside and gave me a bit of counsel that I was being disrespectful to my husband by not being satisfied with what he was providing for my family. Ouch! I am now so grateful for that dear friend that she loved me enough to show me my fault. It was just as she said and I apologized to my husband and kept praying. It wasn't until I got into an accident and totaled the van that my husband really understood that we needed and I desired a larger home for many reasons. He had suggested dipping into the home fund for a new car. Ummmm NO! I practically yelled. I was ready to have a junker car for the sake of a bedroom door for Evan. I really didn't care how much bigger the home was, we just needed more bedrooms. Maybe a home with a basement that could be finished.
It was then that the Lord brought to the attention of my husband a home on Craigslist that was only listed there and for a crazy low price. He contacted the family that owned it and they said it wouldn't be available until spring. Ok, keep us in mind I remember hearing him say. So I considered the home a few times, asked my parents to pray, and prayed myself, in general for a home. In March she got in touch with my husband and we went to see the home. WHOA!!! This place is huge! That was my thoughts as we pulled in. I walked through the home half hearted thinking there was not a possibility of us moving to a home with 2600+ sq. ft. and a bedroom for everyone. Ha!
God has since then made it very very clear that is where HE wants us. It's so crazy! God knows my husband is not handy. That's not an insult, he knows it and so do I. He has provided us a home that is only 5 years old with everything still under warranty for 5 more years. Did I mention a room for everyone??? The owners were going to be out mid June. The day after the baby is due. Ok, we heard ourselves saying, we'll make it work. They called shortly after and said, we don't want you to have to move the week you're having a baby, we'll be out June 1. Cool! She called again a week later to say they didn't think that was enough time for us still and would be out May 7, have the home professionally cleaned and painted for us so I wouldn't have to deal with all that pregnant. We could move in May 10-15. Who does that???? God does! God has also used this dear family to answer many silent prayers that seem so small too. As in, we need to get a new bed for Evan. She offered us a new crib and mattress...E's current bed will be a toddler bed and prayer answered. This seems silly but I mentioned to James that we really needed new diaper pail. She e-mailed James and said she had a diaper genie with a bunch of refills if we wanted it.
This is not a post to brag about a big house or free stuff. Rather it is quite humbling to think that God has even heard my whispered prayers and has chosen to bless us in a way that knocks my socks off. Uh here come the tears again. It's just so overwhelming!!