Friday, February 21, 2014

Dealing with Disappointment

Well, it's been a bit of a long week. And not necessarily in a good way. We found out on Wednesday that our buyers for our house were walking away. We had known this was a possibility for several days, and so finding out that they were not going to be buying our house, while extremely upsetting, was also a bit of a relief. The stress of not knowing had been awful. Wednesday was a hard day. I'll be honest and say that lots of tears were shed. I'll also be honest and say that I don't really have any kind or charitable feelings towards the people who walked away from their contract. That's something that I'm having to give to the Lord over and over because I know it's wrong for me to feel bitter towards anyone. It's not Christ like and it only hurts me. I so want to handle this disappointment with grace. That isn't easy at all. As a matter of fact, it's downright impossible on my own. So, I'm giving it to the Lord and praying for HIS grace.

The thing that makes this so stressful is that we're still closing on our new house in about 10 days. It's a little scary knowing that we'll own two houses with no contract or even any real prospects on ours. We think our house will likely sell sometime this summer, and we will be totally fine. But we never dreamed that our house would be on the market for 9 months when we listed it last summer either, so you never know. But I have to give those uncertainties and fears to the Lord. I'm frustrated that I even have to think about that, though. We didn't buy another house before we had a contract on this one because I didn't want that stress. Even though it was hard to clean the house and get everything "show ready" with three little kids, I did it. I did it for 8 months so that we wouldn't own two houses. But now here we are. About to own two houses because someone backed out of a contract. I have to give those feelings of frustration and stress to the Lord. I'm upset because we were planning on having a long time to move since we were closing on the new house almost two months before we closed on the old house. We were going to take our time and be super strategic with the way we packed and unpacked and settled in. But now that's not really an option because our house will be active on the market and a torn up house with junk and boxes everywhere doesn't exactly show wonderfully. So, now we'll have to move in a hurry. I have to let go of the way I wanted this move to play out and give the disappointment to the Lord. I'm frustrated because this has taken the excitement out of moving for me. Instead of looking forward to this new chapter and feeling happiness that something that we've been praying for and working towards for so long is finally happening, I'm now plagued with doubts about whether we're doing the right thing or making a mistake. I'm angry that I feel that way because I've wanted this for so long. But I have to give those doubts and fears and uncertainties to the Lord, too. He is able to take those feeling away and replace them with total peace. I'm praying that He will.

The fact is, even though we so wanted to avoid this situation, this is where we are right now. And I know with certainty that God has a plan. A good plan. I honestly don't know what He's doing through all of this, but I do KNOW that it's for our good and His glory. I've been reminded through this situation that I am not in control. Even the best laid plans fall through or don't work out sometimes. God is sovereign even in our disappointments, and He is always at work. There are no unintended consequences to anything that God does, and I'm so thankful for such a BIG God. And I'm thankful that I can trust Him completely with the tiny details of my life and the very biggest ones, too.

"The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." Proverbs 16:9

5 comments:

Jennifer said...

I am so sorry that y'all are going through this! What a mess! I always worry this is going to happen when we buy and sell houses too. How did the other buyers even get out of the contract? I hope you had some earnest money. Carl's parents went through this a few years ago and it is frustrating. I will be praying for you and thinking of you during this stressful time.

Elizabeth Root said...

Carrie, I'm so sorry this has happened. I can't imagine how upset you must be. I will pray for you and your family. I do know that I have seen houses selling in places they sat for awhile so don't lose hope! The Lord sent a buyer for us and I know he has one in mind for your house. It was really a miracle ours sold. Showing with young kids is so hard, at least you won't have to do that with busy house season coming up. THe weather is so nice out, it seems like that would get people out house hunting. I can't wait to see pictures of your new house and I will pray that your house sells soon.

Sarah Denley said...

Hugs from a million (okay a thousand) miles away. Praying for y'all!

Courtney said...

I hate that this is happening to you. I think you are right to leave it to God, but it still stings. Best wishes for a quick move and a quick sell on your house.

Mary Louis Quinn said...

I am so very sorry!! This is incredibly disappointing. The same thing happened to us- the night before we moved out of our house, the couple buying ours backed out. It was terrifying! But the whole time ours was on the market, I had been thanking God for the family that I just knew He was going to bring to our house. I knew it would be the perfect family for our beloved home, so when that contract fell through, I just had to force myself to have faith that that perfect family was still coming. It took a couple of more months, but finally the family I had been praying for came, and we sold the house. So it will happen for y'all! It's scary to put your trust in God's timing, but He will bring you through this!