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| David and Mary at the Chicago Temple in April. This is the day we learned what house would become our home. |
Since we would not be buying the only house that made any sense, Greg and I expanded our options. We considered schools we would not have considered before. We considered houses well outside the ward boundaries we wanted to live in. We looked way above our price range and way below our price range. We went back to the drawing board and considered renting or even base housing. But the feeling was always no, no, no. But still we couldn't shake the sense of urgency. We must have gone through the decision-making steps described in D&C 9:8 a million times, only to experience again and again the big fat stupor of thought described in verse 9. It felt like we were walking in circles. In the dark.
Finally, one day the obvious dawned on us. We had enlarged our search so wide that we were considering homes halfway to Cincinnati. We realized we shouldn't live halfway to Cincinnati--we should live all the way to Cincinnati. We should live near Greg's brother! As soon as the thought entered my mind, I felt peace. The darkness and despair disappeared. Suddenly, I felt like I was moving forward instead of stuck turning circles. Greg called his brother, who was in London at the time, to talk to him about it. And I talked to Leslie. We all felt this could be a really special time for our families, to live close to each other. I can't believe how light and happy I felt! And I felt a confirmation that this would be a blessing for both of our families.
Leslie immediately jumped into action helping me understand the area, like school and church boundaries, as well as desirable neighborhoods and communities. She helped us with real estate agent recommendations, and, in the meantime she sent me listings of houses in good locations and offered to go to any open houses. The only problem was that the market was piping hot in the community we wanted. It was the kind of situation where houses were selling within hours!! I felt stressed about being able to buy a house in that kind of environment. We knew we should plan a house hunting trip to Ohio soon ... perhaps that very weekend. But we felt even more strongly that we needed to go worship in the temple that weekend. We had so much going on that it seemed unwise. Except that the feeling was so strong that it seemed unwise not to go.
So that Saturday (our house had been under contract for only a week--it seemed like the longest, most intense week ever!) we piled everyone in the car and drove to Chicago. Greg and I took turns at the temple. I took the kids to the nearby children's museum, and he took them to lunch while I was inside the temple.
When I was inside, I felt such peace that moving to the north-eastern suburbs of Cincinnati was the right decision. I felt it was important to live as close as possible to Chris and Leslie. I felt peace about being able to buy a house in the right community. Most of all, I felt God's love for me and my family. I knew I could trust Him. He was taking care of us. I had no reason to fear or doubt.
When I walked out of the temple, I had a text from Leslie: She had found our house!
P.S. D&C 6:36
