Click here for Part I of IV.
As it turns out, the offer on our home came from the type of buyer Debbie could really relate to—and for whom she had been praying. This would-be buyer fit her ideal perfectly: a young, female professional in education. She was even headed for the same town Debbie had taught in for eighteen years. Our condo seemed destined for just the right person, but our heaven-sent buyer’s offer had some potential snags. Don’t they all? However, there wasn’t a chance in heaven this deal would fall through.
As rookie home sellers, Debbie and I began to walk through the vagaries of what makes real estate deals tenuous. Home inspection issues and financing-imposed delays couldn’t prevent a closing originally planned for the fall from moving up to the end of July. The transaction was coming together so well that it seemed nothing would stop this freight train. Suddenly, we needed to find another place to live!
Anyone who followed our cross-country tour in 2014 knows that we both volunteer as Hope Coaches for TheHopeLine. We had discussed moving closer to its headquarters south of Nashville to help the organization with special projects as needed. As a decision about where to move became imminent, another opportunity arose that would test our resolve to move closer to TheHopeLine.
We visited Atlanta and interviewed with a missions organization, and soon I was offered a paid position. Over the July 4 weekend, Debbie and I went on a personal retreat to pray, fast, and discuss the pluses and minuses of each of the two options we had. The advice of people who knew us well lined up with what Debbie and I discovered on our retreat–as clear and unequivocal as if God Himself had whispered in our ears. Nashville and our interest in TheHopeLine fit better than Atlanta, despite forgoing a full-time paid position with benefits for a worthy cause and organization.
Immediately after I communicated our decision to the missions organization, Debbie received a request for an interview with a school system near Nashville for a position she had been eyeing for some time. Perhaps we should have figured out last October that God was calling us to the Nashville area. The car we rented in Pennsylvania to return home from our last stop on TheHopeLine Tour had Tennessee plates. It was time to find a home in Nashville.
For Part III, click here.