Yes, you heard me correctly. We sold our house. The pretty white one with the front porch and open floor plan. The one Nic built. The one we moved into just a year ago. (Insert your own gasp here.) The one your friends are pinning on Pinterest.

It feels strange to even type these words, and yet it’s been coming for a long time. I just chose to ignore the idea that we might sell our house. It’s exciting to share, but it’s hard to share. Yes, I feel the shock  just oozing out of the screen as I type this, and I can clearly hear you asking, “Meredith – why in the world would you sell your ‘dream home’ that you just built?”

It doesn’t make sense to many people, but even when I don’t want to admit it, it’s the right thing for us for right now. I like to tell people that when I married Nic, I knew I was signing up for a life of adventure. And, when he became a custom home builder, I knew we would likely build and move several times. But, more than that, we really want to make wise financial decisions and we feel like this is one of them. Sure, we could probably make more money if we held on to this home and the real estate market continued to rise. I could bore you with more details, but there are too many “what ifs” to list.

We got a great offer for our house, before it was on the market, and we decided to go for it. We don’t exactly know what ‘next’ will look like for us. That’s scary but exciting.

Of course there are many, many things I will miss… and I want to write a few of them down so I don’t forget.

I will miss swinging on the back porch with Rachel, and spending evenings outdoors.

I will miss the morning light streaming into David’s nursery and the sound of the rooster crowing next door. I will miss the little details we planned as part of his nursery.

I will miss the herringbone brick floor in our laundry room.

I will miss our kids’ bath… because this room included my favorite, simple design choices in this home.
Oh, Enchanted Forest (as we so lovingly named this house), you will be missed, but not forgotten!

I’m so thankful for the memories we made here. For the sweetest neighbors whose kindness brought me to tears. For the cedar trees and the turkeys and the deer. For the snow that covered the ground while we lived here. For 0.5 miles to grandparents. For roaming puppy friends who came to visit Bear.  Most of all, for God’s grace in this and all of life’s adventures.

In the midst of living in the ‘in between’ and longing for a place to call home, I was so encouraged when I read a quote earlier this week in Nancy Ray‘s newsletter.

Our home is not our refuge; God is our refuge. The consequences of forgetting this are grim. In our quest to consume enough stuff to make our home our refuge, we are consumed. In time, we may come to live for the kingdom we can see with our eyes, instead of the one that Jesus assured us is on its way.
– Gloria Furman (Refresh Devotional)

Yes. Just yes. A much needed reminder.

Until next time…