A Dream Come True

Looking out my living room window and seeing that SOLD sign in front of our house has brought me so much joy in the past week! It is a constant reminder of God's amazing love for me and how, if we wait patiently on Him, He will give us our heart's desires. It brings to mind two verses: Jeremiah 29:11 - "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." The second is Romans 8:28 - "For the Lord works out all things for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." I'm sure there are a ton of other verses that would apply as well - but those two have always been two of my favorites.

So, why did we sell our house you may ask? Well....a long time ago - just over 8 years to be exact - Jared and I began dating and began talking about our future. Our house, where we would live, how many kids we would have, etc, etc. My dream was to live around the area where I grew up on a few acres of land so the kids would have tons of space to play and we could have a massive garden and a few animals. Jared, being a born-and-raised city boy wasn't exactly sold on the idea. At least not at first. However, after visiting my family a few times over Christmas and during the summers, we both knew by the time we got married that that's what we wanted for a future home. Then came the waiting.

Our first year of marriage we lived in Edmonton as I was still going to school. Then we decided to move back to Manitoba so that we could be closer to grandparents when we started having babies. We had to move to Winnipeg so that Jared could finish his social work degree and the initial plan was to be there for two years while he finished. Of course, once here, we found out that he would need at least three years to finish since not all of his classes transferred. And then life happened - we had a baby, and then anther one. Jared hates doing homework, so he failed a few classes. Then he finally got his act together and graduated - such a happy day! When he was done and looking for work, he tried to find a job in Brandon, but to no avail. He ended up being offered a position here in the city and so I put my dream of living in the country on hold yet again. I was disappointed. But I decided that rather than wallowing in self pity, I would be happy about my circumstance and make the best of it. It wasn't always easy - but God gave me peace. Jared kept assuring me that it would still happen. We would move out of Winnipeg before Xavier started kindergarten. I wanted to believe him, but I didn't want to get my heart broken either. A tiny little part of me felt like it was never going to happen and I would be stuck here forever.

And then, very out of the blue, Jared got a job offer from his current employer for a different position that would be based out of their Brandon office. When he got off the phone and told me the news, I couldn't stop smiling for three days! It was actually going to happen! We would be out of here before Xavier starts kindergarten this fall. Then came the whirlwind of selling our house, buying a new house, and getting all the paperwork in order. We are still in the midst of that whirlwind, but it is SUCH a good feeling to see things falling into place. And so quickly! We weren't sure how soon this would all pan out - but it's literally been just a few short weeks!

This is our our new place that we'll be calling home by the middle of March:

It's an older bungalow, so it needs a bit of work. And it's not quite in the middle of nowhere - it's in Justice, a very small town about 10 minutes NW of Brandon. But it's got a huge yard with space for a garden and way more room for the kids than we have now. It won't be our forever home, but it will be something that we can grow into over the next few years until we find EXACTLY what we're looking for in a property/house - I keep dreaming of building a place some day. We'll see! I seriously cannot WAIT to be all moved in here and out of the city!

Now, don't get my wrong. Winnipeg is an okay place and I know a lot of people love living here. But for me, well, let's just say you can't take the country out of me! It's who I am and where I feel at home. I love the wide open space, the lack of conveniences right around your corner. I love the QUIET! I love looking up at the sky at night and seeing nothing but a million and one stars. I am sooo incredibly excited that I will FINALLY be able to see this dream come to fruition! As I said, we're not quite in the middle of nowhere yet. But it's a start. It will be a great transition home as we adjust to not being in the city anymore. And someday, I know that if we continue to be patient, God will one day grant us the dream of having that acreage that we've been longing for.