Holy moly, it's been too long since I last blogged. Mainly it's because we've been SO busy searching for and buying a house!
The market here in Nashville is insane. But, thankfully, we found a house after six months of diligently looking, and we're all moved in! The last two months have been a blur--having our first house fall through, putting an offer on this house, negotiating, signing, closing, going on vacation the day after signing, moving in with a sprained ankle, re-doing the kitchen without my husband here, and buying double the furniture for our Airbnb apartment upstairs and our space downstairs. There's been so much, but this post is not about all the stress and all the details of the house. This post is about God's faithfulness in a dream he put in our hearts.
Two years ago, Andrew and I decided we really wanted to invest in people by hosting them in our home. We've been doing this since our first year of marriage, but we never actually had enough space to do it well. People would sleep on our couch or an air mattress and we'd all share one bathroom in the past. Although, doable, it wasn't the most comfortable. So, Drew and I decided we wanted to buy a house and do Airbnb. We researched cities, we talked to others doing Airbnb, we stayed in Airbnb's, we dreamed about our space and the perfect house that would allow for it, and we set out to do it.
When we moved to Nashville with this dream in mind, things did not go our way. Our move here was insanely messy (see here). The housing search felt like a waste of so many hours when houses were sold before they were even on the market. Our realtor switch and lender switch in mid-search was crazy stressful. All of these things were working against us. We really, seriously, felt the Enemy did not want us to buy a house and host people. I'm so thankful we did not give up. Looking back, I see God's hand in so many things. Here are a few:
-This once-upon-a-time-duplex-turned-single-family-home was not appealing to others because the upstairs was so unlike the rest of the house, but for us, it was EXACTLY what we were looking for. (It has indoor and outdoor entrances to the upstairs!)
-It was just out of our price range. Enough for us to offer low and negotiate and get it for exactly what we were willing to pay.
-It is off every major freeway in Nashville, which means those who stay with us can get to anywhere in Nashville in 10-20 minutes.
-It was livable, but not perfect. We really wanted a house move-in ready that had all the potential to do the projects living in our head. This house is FULL of potential and we've already begun some of our projects (which are so fun and so time-consuming)!
All of this is to say God is faithful in putting dreams in our hearts and helping us achieve them, even if the process is long and hard. And then there are times where dreams we have do not come true and are out of our grasp--we're here dealing with those too. He is still faithful and all things are in His timing. I'm so thankful that He has allowed us to pursue this dream and that we get to watch it unfold before us. We cannot wait to host people soon! Come visit and stay with us when our space is ready!
