You may know that we have had a contract to sell our house for over a month to a family who had to sell their house first. Last weekend we had a bunch of showings and another family matched the offer of our current contract, but without the sale contingency. So, we got out of the first contract and signed a new contract with the second family. The little stresses began early in the week when our realtor called to tell us that the buyers couldn't get insurance because of our bridge. They said the house would be inaccessible to fire trucks in the event of an emergency. She also told us that their lender would not finance them without steps to our side door. (When Holly and I designed the house 8 years ago, we put a side door in, which we didn't build steps to as we were building the house. It was just one of those things that got skipped in the interest of getting in the house faster. Once we were in the house we realized that we really wouldn't be using that door at all and it would actually be a hassle to use it if we could, so we never built stairs. So we ended up with a door on the side of the house with a 2-3 foot drop to the ground. We never really thought about building stairs before we moved.) So naturally this stressed me out. Obviously we had no control of the homeowner's insurance, but if only I were in KY, I could just go ahead and build the stairs myself and be done with it. So this left me with trying to find a builder in Lawrenceburg to put it in for me. I was not relishing the idea of doing this from 1800 miles away. Then our realtor emailed me again to tell me we also needed to have a handrail by the stairs going down to the basement. AAAARRRGGG! Just another thing that I couldn't do.
Then she called on Thursday with the news you definitely don't want to hear when you are out of state and trying to sell your house. We were having a home inspection done on Friday, so she went over to make sure everything was ready. Everything looked good she said, "except I can't get your furnace to come on." Great!!!! That is exactly what you want to hear before your buyer's home inspection. So, I reassured her that I would get ahold of the guy who installed it, and have him come out and look at it. After I get back to our apt. and start looking, I find that he is out of business. So I start making calls, and randomly get in contact with a HVAC business in Frankfort who is a dealer for our brand of heat pump. I'm think, "At least it is still under the 10 yr warranty."
The next morning the technicians make it out to our house to check on the HVAC system. While we are in the first class of the morning, I get a call from the manager. I'm thinking, "Great, they found the problem and it is fixed!" So I step out of class to have him tell me that his techs arrived to find that thieves had damaged the unit and stole all of the copper. Unfortunately, after having taken countless theft reports for AC units at vacant houses, this surprised me, but didn't shock me. It's not fun being on the other side though. Naturally I ask him what this means. "Well," he tells me, "You are going to have to replace the entire outdoor unit." "So, is this going to be like over a thousand dollars?" says I. "Definitely," is the response I didn't want, but was not surprised to hear.
To say I was stressed by this point in time would be an understatement. Trying to coordinate all these repairs from TX, and continuing to throw money at a house we are trying to sell. But what I continue to forget is that its all God's money anyway. He gave it to me and he can take it away. He has promised to supply all of our needs. That is actual needs, not all the little things we talk ourselves into needing. God gave us the house. He gave us all the money and every thing we have. What right do I have to complain if he takes some of it away? Maybe the HVAC guy has been praying for another sale so that he can put food on the table. Or sometimes God is just taking the opportunity to remind us once again that he is in control.
About 30 minutes later, I got another call from the HVAC guy who tells me that his technicians had actually gone to our neighbor's house. Their house is also vacant and for sale. He told me that they would head back and check on our unit. He also seemed a little nervous about payment with us being out of the state and all. He asked if I would be able to give him a credit card number once they knew what the problem was and had fixed it. I assured him that I would be able to do so. I assumed I would get a call as soon as they found the problem.
Sat. I emailed our realtor to check on how everything had gone the day before. I was also a little curious because I had not heard from the HVAC guy. She told me the inspection went fine and the heat was on in the house. I have no idea what the problem was, but I assume they didn't have to order parts for anything. I will call them on Monday to find out what the problem was, but whatever the case, it won't be as bad as replacing the outdoor unit.
As far as the stairs and the handrail, well, some of our friends from church stepped up and offered to spend their Sat. morning building stairs for us and putting in a handrail. We are so incredibly blessed to have people like this who support us. Supporting missionaries isn't always sticking a check in the mail every month. Sometimes it means getting your hands a little dirty and doing the things we just can't do for ourselves. In the meantime we get incredibly encouraged to see people who are willing to sacrifice a little time for us. Sometimes that is harder than sticking a hundred dollar check in the mail.
I see that I have written much more than I intended. For those who are still with me at this point, I just want to remind you, you're not in control. It may feel like it most of the time, and we may want to be, but remember, God really is in control and we really do want it that way. After allowing me to stress for a little while, he provided insurance for our buyers, protection from thieves for our AC units, and great friends to spend a little time building us an awesome set of stairs.
