A Glimmer of Possibility: The Story Behind Our Home

I remember when we first saw it. We had come on a bit of a whim – Andy in a rental car on his layover in Edmonton and myself making the 2.5 hour drive from Cochrane. And now we were standing in the backyard still mostly covered with snow, unsure of what we just saw. Could this be the one we’d been looking for? What would this mean for life as we knew it? And how on earth would we explain this to those we had come to love so dearly?

Yet as we stood back there, the crisp March air filling our lungs and the sun getting ready to set in the distance, we saw a glimmer of a life we had been craving – one a little slower, a little more intentional than the life we had been living. One where lives could flourish, faith could deepen, relationships could strengthen, and where we could truly learn to live and love well.

It all started a few months prior. Andy and I were living in a little townhouse in Cochrane that we loved dearly and had made our own, but we knew we didn’t want to be there forever. We had dreams of someday having a home we could grow into – one where we could have a big ol’ garden and maybe even some chickens, where we could host easily and create new memories with those we love.

We had been keeping an eye on the local real estate listings in our area – partly because we were always curious to see what was out there and partly because I am nosy and simply love looking at homes. But when development started on the land behind our home, we became much more motivated to make the move elsewhere. We began the hunt for a home to call our own.

And hunt we did. We considered all sorts of houses in all sorts of places. We took a look at a few places in town, dreaming up possibilities and plans for each. We looked at countless listings online, weighing pros and cons and everything in between. We even checked out a few houses we knew full well were in complete disrepair and beyond the point of saving, longing to find “the one”. And we prayed, asking the Lord to lead and guide us, trusting that He knew where He wanted us to be and would make it clear to us when (or if) it was time to move.

When we first saw the listing photos, we knew we would never regret coming to take a look, but we may regret not, always wondering what would have happened if we did. Its Anne-of-Green-Gables-esque exterior facade was a welcomed relief from the monotonous “master planned” homes all around us in Cochrane. And its ornate detailing throughout hinted at what other hidden treasures we may be able to uncover from its early 1900s heritage. So we made arrangements to come take a look and as they like to say: the rest is history.

Little did we know, though, what “the rest” would include.

Although we could see glimmers of the life we had been craving while standing in the backyard after our viewing, we felt completely and utterly uncertain. What about our community? We didn’t know anyone in the area and would be starting over in many ways. And what about our jobs? It would likely work out okay for Andy, but could I continue working with the company I loved? And what about the fact that we just loved where we lived? We didn’t know a single thing about the area.

Then there were the endless doubts and questions about living on an acreage, finding the right realtor, selling our townhome, mortgages, insurance, buying (and plausibly renovating) a home that was built in 1938… the list goes on and on. Needless to say, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. We trusted that the Lord would lead and guide us, but in the moment we couldn’t see Him or tell if this was a door He was opening.

A few days later, we got the news that someone had put in an offer and we knew we had to decide: To counteroffer or not to counteroffer – that was indeed the question. We were visiting Andy’s sister for the weekend and I remember sitting on the floor of the bedroom on the phone with our realtor late at night, in complete turmoil. We were deciding whether or not to go for it and knew that if we made this decision, and our offer was accepted, life as we knew it would change completely. After much deliberation, we finally decided to go for it. Still unsure of whether we had made the right decision, we committed it to the Lord and simply asked for His will to be done. We went to bed that night with the peace that He would lead and guide us, no matter what the outcome was and that if this was the house He wanted us to have, He would open the right doors for that to happen.

But He didn’t. At least not at first. You see, the next day the other offer was accepted. And as Andy and I made our way home from his sister’s, we were utterly confused. We had taken the leap of faith, and had trusted, hadn’t we? We had wrestled with hard questions and thought we had peace about moving forward with this, but was it all for nothing? We weren’t sure whether to feel relieved or disappointed.

Yet, is that not the journey of faith? We so often think A + B will lead to C, yet God’s ways are often different than our own. His way sometimes looks like A + Q – J, which then leads to C… or perhaps somewhere even greater than we could ever ask for or imagine. Looking back, it is clear how the Lord was leading us, how He was opening doors and providing each step of the way, preparing us and moving in our midst to carry out His purposes, but in the messy middle, it is… well… messy.

But the good news is that He is with us and He invites us to come to Him in the midst of the mess and the confusion. So we did. And we prayed a simple prayer: that He would open doors only He could open and that He would close ones only He could shut. If this was to be our home, we trusted that He would open the doors for us to be there, no matter what the current circumstances looked like. It wasn’t over until it was over.

And it was far from over. A couple days later, we received news that the other buyers had backed out of their offer. The home inspection had shown that there was knob and tube electrical wiring throughout and the other buyers had no interest in pursuing the purchase further. So it was up to us – should we go for it? And this time, the answer was a resounding “yes”. Though we still didn’t see the full picture, we could see the Lord was re-opening a door and we had the opportunity to join Him in what He was up to. And I’m so incredibly thankful we did.

As we reflect back on our last three years here, I never could have imagined what that “yes” would lead to. Being a part of an incredible community of Christ-followers learning and growing in what it truly means to follow Him and live like Him and be His hands and feet in our world. Journeying through renovations for two years, carefully crafting and cultivating a place we now get to call home. Slowing down to rest and reflect, delight and savor, and simply be.

The glimmer we saw of a life deeply flourishing, faith deepening, relationships strengthening as we learn to live and love well – it is bright and beautiful and we wake up every morning so incredibly grateful for this gift we get to call our home.

And perhaps that’s why I love this story so much. Not because our home-buying journey “all worked out”, but because it reminds me of the kind of God we serve. A God who is faithful in the waiting, present in the uncertainty, and at work even when we cannot see what He is doing. A God who writes stories far better than we could ever write for ourselves.

Three years ago, we stood in this backyard full of questions, wondering what life might look like if we said yes. Today, we stand here with a deeper appreciation for the One who was guiding us all along. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that some of the most beautiful chapters begin with nothing more than a glimmer of possibility and the courage to trust God with the next page.