Ever feel like something just wasn't right?

Do you ever get that feeling that things just aren't right, no matter how much you try to convince yourself otherwise? That's kind of what we've been struggling with lately. You see, as mentioned in my last post, we found a house for when we move. We've been working on this house since the end of March. Getting inspections, appraisals, and more back and forth's with the sellers than you would believe. It truly was a great place. The land was amazing, and was probably the biggest selling point for the house. The house itself was nice, too, but it was going to need LOTS of updating. The killer wallpaper that covered that house was awful, and was going to be a LOT of work for me. Not that I couldn't handle a little project... but in choosing this house, we decided to sacrifice a few things. We were good with that. We prayed, talked, and prayed some more about all the changes that would take place with this transition. 
This whole process has been more stress that necessary. Jason and I have questioned many times why things keep backfiring. So many things going wrong with the negotiations, the appraisal, and the seller's agents refusing to budge on anything. Each time something would come back at us from them, we would pray for guidance, for God to lead our family where He sees best for us. And each time we would pray, we would get slammed with bad news from the sellers again. But we kept going with it. Pushing to get what WE wanted from this deal. So after the appraisal came back under contract price, we prayed again. We prayed for guidance, and we prayed for smooth negotiations. Well, once again, bad news. They didn't want to agree to it. How many times do we look past this? After all, we've been waiting for God to show us where we need to go, and these negotiations have been telling us something. This place just is not meant to be. We pray for guidance, yet we fail to see it when it's smacking us in the face. Well, we finally got the memo, God! This house is not our home, it is not what is going to fulfill our family's needs. They refuse to work with us on this deal, so after a lot more praying, we have decided to let it go. 
So after spending the last month + working the deal on that house, and the $$ involved, we are starting back at square one. We were supposed to close on that house on May 18th. 20 days until closing, and we start all over again. The stress I have felt through this whole process has been overwhelming. I felt like I was being suffocated. But  the moment we followed His lead and let this go of this deal, I could breathe. I feel a bit pressed for time now, but I don't feel the stress and negativity that was surrounding that contract. 

So I guess in short, pay attention. When we pray, God answers. He gives us signs,  the tools we need, and the information we need, He tells us things in so many ways that we tend to overlook. All we have to do is open our eyes, hearts, and ears, and then we will realize God is there, walking us through this life. As cliche as it is, God has a plan for everyone. We don't know His plans, and it may be difficult waiting for it to play out, but God is good! The times we wonder why there is "only one set of footprints" in life, just remember that is when God carried you through, he didn't leave you during the hard times! I leave you with the poem "Footprints in the Sand" , just as a friendly reminder :)

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed
he was walking along the beach with the LORD.

Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene he noticed two sets of
footprints in the sand: one belonging
to him, and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him,
he looked back at the footprints in the sand.

He noticed that many times along the path of
his life there was only one set of footprints.

He also noticed that it happened at the very
lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him and he
questioned the LORD about it:

"LORD, you said that once I decided to follow
you, you'd walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most
troublesome times in my life,
there is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why when
I needed you most you would leave me."

The LORD replied:

"My son, my precious child,
I love you and I would never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering,
when you see only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."