… of course I was thrilled about the Ark. I was jumping up and down inside, so amazed at God’s grace and power.
But I didn’t want to tell anyone. Why?
Because then they would say, “Oh fun! Show me the link to the house!”
And then I would cringe. Because I didn’t want to show anyone that the house was … big. I didn’t want anyone to see the price.
I was afraid of being judged.
There you have it. My pride. I took pride in being the frugal girl. In living simply. In having my small, 110-year-old house. Living in a little old house looks godly. Living in an enormous house looks worldly. What would people think when the Frugal-living girl buys a (to me) super expensive house?!!
Yes, we could afford it without reducing our giving-amount at all. Yes, this was clearly the house God was leading us to. But I couldn’t give those disclaimers to everyone. Some people would just look, and think I’d sold out and quit being a Jesus-follower and think this was just about me wanting to live in a big house.
I would avoid giving any details about the house. I didn’t want anybody to look it up and draw conclusions about us. There wasn’t time to tell the whole story to every random person, so I just figured I’d keep the whole thing quiet. But as I prayed, I kept sensing the Father saying,
“Don’t fear people. Don’t be ashamed of what I’m doing.”
I know it sounds silly, but this was the hardest part. I’d been so open about our journey of leaving our dream-home, I was afraid people would see this as “going back” to our old life. And it was anything but! This was a new level of trust, of surrender, of living with hands wide open. I honestly believe this house and property will be a blessing to uncounted many. It will be A Refuge In The Storm. God has already kept me back from taking claim to this house as if it’s my own. It’s His. In every way. Every square inch is His and I’m to be His steward of it for as long as He wills.
So there it is.
Through this process, God has brought the story of Noah to life in a whole new way. I have never identified so much! I keep thinking how he must have worried what other people thought, how it probably seemed like a “waste of money” to build that enormous boat, how he must have felt crazy some (most?) of the time. But he followed through, it came to pass, and the Ark was indeed A Refuge In the Storm.
I have no idea what the whole story will be. I don’t know what the storm is, or exactly how this house will be used. It might not even be clear in my lifetime. I’m content not having all the details, I’m just grateful for the peace of knowing this next step. We move in April 11th. I’m keeping the specific location private, not because I’m afraid you’ll judge me 😉 but because it needs to be private. Thanks for respecting that.
For now, I just want to say: Whatever God is calling you to do: believe Him! Don’t fear others’ opinions, their judgement, or your own lack of resources. Whole-hearted surrender brings incredible blessing and opens the path for His dreams to be brought to fruition in our lives. Praying for the grace to trust Him in the days ahead, each step of the way.
{Thanks so much for reading.}
5 thoughts on “The Ark (last part!)”
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Celebrating for you family! Thanks for sharing the beautiful story. I remember when we got our home. It seemed mike so much more than we could have ever hoped for and strongly sensing that it is all forbid kingdom. Over the last few years as we host several events (baby showers, birthday parties, community groups, volunteer thanks you…) it has been a blessing. One time we fit 65 people in (comfortably-ish) because it too is big. Some people said awkward things, like “do you know what people in Africa would think of your house? How many of them you could fit?” Oh dear! But we knew that all our resources are his and really aren’t worth having if not for his kingdom and purposes. BUT it is a perspective we have to fight for in our hearts and it sometimes slips away and we have to put it back again… When the screen door breaks because of the community group kiddos or the walls get grubby with so many little hands (we didn’t have our own kids at first),
I try and remember and re-rehearse that we moved in praying Romans 12:9-16 over this place:
“9Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10Love each other with genuine affection,e and take delight in honoring each other. 11Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.f 12Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.
14Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!”
What lovely words of encouragement!
Kari, I’ve been praying like a crazy person about a decision that I’m being called to make. A leap. I don’t have a plan! I just have a call that seems crazy and somewhat selfish and somewhat irresponsible. But every time I pray, every time I ask “Lord, if it is you, command me to get out of the boat!” I hear God saying “IT’S ME! GET OUT!”. Your posts about the Ark have been even more confirmation from me. I truly believe God is using you to speak to me right now. So…your story, and your sharing of your story, is rippling much farther than the impending flood in Oregon. Somehow, God is organizing an army of Noahs across the world, and we are sending little smoke signals of encouragement to each other. 🙂
Oh. Kari. Precious friend, this is so beautiful! Thank you for sharing your journey with us! I am
overjoyed for you and your family, delighting in God’s faithfulness, along with His intricate plans and specific answers to prayer! How I love your heart! Such good news! Xoxo
I just wanted to say I Really Needed This! I am on my own journey to find ” The House”. We had look for our for 2 1/2 years, with the feeling that none of the homes we look at were what we should buy. This has been tremendously stressful. Then through inspiration I started to get a list of things “The House” needed to have. Like you this list is WAY out side of what we can afford and bigger than we feel comfortable with. I am at heart a minimalist and frugal. I have spent the last 8 months getting impressions about the “The House”. And waiting for this thing to manifest. On the 2nd of April, as I was preparing to watch General Confidence ( the leaders of out church speak). I read an article on bringing a question to conference that we would like answered. As I was thinking about the question I would like answered. The though came to ask about ” The House”. I then feel I should read a blog, so I chose yours I Love yours wisdom. And there it was “The Ark”. As I read I cried. Is was an example of Heaven Father doing the seemingly impossible in someone else’s life. THANK YOU for posting your story. It mirrors mine so closely. Though mine in still in the works. This gave much strength to my weary soul. See we have been trying to buy for about 7 yrs. We just kept getting the feeling to wait. And now that the time feels right. I felt like we were hitting a brick wall. So Thank you!