That Word Again

Yesterday morning in church we sang one of my most favorite of all my favorite hymns, Praise to the Lord, the Almighty. That hymn contains one of my most favorite of all my favorite hymn lines:  Ponder anew what the Almighty can do.  I have written about this hymn and this hymn line before.  It always stirs something within me.  And yesterday, there it was again.  That hymn.  That line.  That word.

Ponder.  Ponder anew.  Singing that hymn yesterday morning led to some pondering throughout the day.  Not just pondering what the Almighty can do, but pondering what He has done, and what He has been doing over the past several months.

Yesterday I had my first official Sunday afternoon nap in our new home.  Yesterday I also realized that it has only been just over two weeks since this house became ours.  (Ours and the bank's!)  This house feels so much like "home" that it's hard to realize that we have only had furniture here and have only been living in this house for just over a week.

As I began to think about that, I realized that only slightly more than two months have passed since this moving adventure began.  It seems like much longer, In fact, it's beginning to feel like we have been surrounded by boxes forever!

We put our house on the market in spring of 2014, and the waiting began.  Waiting for showings.  Waiting for some interest.  Waiting for an offer.  Throughout that process I often became frustrated and impatient.  Yet throughout that process I learned a lot about trust.  And about faith.  And about waiting on God. 

During those months, as we waited, I was often asked how things were going. I was asked if I was getting impatient.  To that question, I tried to maintain a positive attitude, but I often wanted to scream!  Of course I was getting impatient!

From the beginning, it had been our prayer that God would bring the right buyer at the right time, in such a way that He would receive the glory.  And to that prayer, my husband added the caveat that this would be a cash sale.  I confess that I thought he was pushing things a little to be praying for that.  But I was wrong.

As people asked about the results of our showings and how things were going and if we had any news, my response became a variation of the same theme.  The house will sell in God's time.  And probably when we least expect it.

In the second week of March of this year, just two short months ago, I got a call from our realtor setting a showing for Friday, March 13.  We tidied up the house, and went out for a few hours.  I was hopeful, but not overly optimistic.  What I considered an ideal outcome was that the buyers would like the house and would schedule a second showing.

Late that Friday afternoon, the realtor called and said "I have an offer for you."  My response was something like "You have a what?"

We did receive an offer that day, and after a counteroffer on our part, we agreed to a price and a closing date.  April 30.  Just 45 days away.  And, by the way, it was a cash sale!

The days since then have been a whirlwind.  Finding our home here in Spartanburg.  Inspections.  Shopping for carpet and appliances and some new furniture.  Boxes, boxes, boxes.  Packing.  And now unpacking.

It has all been a bit overwhelming.  Certainly it has been physically and mentally exhausting.  But it has been spiritually exhilarating and uplifting.

That brings me back to that word.  Ponder.  It is almost impossible to believe all that has happened since March 13.  In just over two months, nine short weeks, we have uprooted from one place and are in process of putting down roots in another.  When I ponder the events of these last two months, it seems nearly impossible that all this has happened in such a short space of time.  I have no words to adequately describe how this just blows my mind!

And so I continue to ponder.  To be amazed at what the Almighty can do.  To be amazed at what He has done.

This has been His plan.  In His time.  And His plan and His timing are always perfect.

That's a thought worth pondering!


"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.....He hath made everything beautiful in His time."  (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 11 KJV, emphasis mine)