Month: December 2023

Moving (Part 2)

As I shared in my first blog, our daughter and son-in-law’s offer on a house in Wichita was accepted.  Now it was time for them to hit the ground running as they hurried to put their house near Houston on the market.

They had already been working on projects to get their house ready to be listed but there was still much to do.  My husband, Gary, drove down with all our boxes we had used during our main level remodel as well as tools that he could use to help with some projects.  

There was quite a flurry of activity during those several days.  Every inch of the house, inside and out, was being cleaned and uncluttered and repaired.  The business end of putting the house on the market was being decided.  Finally, before Gary left to come home, pictures were taken of the house…the for-sale sign was in the front yard…and soon their beautiful home was officially listed. 

We fully expected the same scenario as we had seen with Roger and Deane’s home…lots of showings and then several offers right away.  Maybe even a bidding war!

But no.  

Crickets.  

No showing notifications.  For three days!

Come on people!  We’re in a hurry to sell this house!  

And we began to learn that the Houston housing market is not at all like the Wichita market.  

During all this, when panic was at the door, I was reminded that God inhabits our praise.  It was all too easy during our worrying to forget to praise God for His goodness and for His plan, yet to be fully seen.  He gave me this truth at that time.

Finally, after three days of waiting, a showing was scheduled on the fourth day!  Surely this would be IT!

Kyle and Andrea got the house spic and span…Andrea baked cookies and had water for the potential buyers…corralled their three dogs in one car…put baby Ryker in the other…and made it out the door and drove away in time.  

Whew!!

But the potential buyers didn’t show up.  

Hopes dashed.  

So began a very stressful period for Kyle and Andrea.  They had one couple who were finally interested in their house, but their offer was unreasonable…and so was the fact that they would randomly show up at their door!

Kyle was preparing to leave for his maritime job.  He would be offshore, on a boat out in the Gulf…for a month!  We had prayed for the house to sell before he left, but God had other plans.

I flew down to help Andrea for two weeks.  I had no ulterior motives at all.  Nothing whatsoever about this little precious boy drew me to Texas!  Ha!

Before I left, Deane told me that she and Roger were praying for a cash buyer for Kyle and Andrea.  So, we joined them in that prayer.  It certainly would speed things up!

What a two weeks it was!  Our first showing was the day after I arrived.  That was the morning that Andrea had to take Kyle to get a physical before he boarded the boat and then take him to the port in Galveston.  I was at the house doing what cleaning I could while I watched Ryker, kept an eye on the dogs, tried to pick up baby and dog toys…and what was that smell?!  Had a mouse gotten in the wall and died?!

Not today!!

Thus began two weeks of crazy!  We had down times with no showings but the showings we did have made up for the times of peace.  Getting three dogs and a baby out the door in time was no easy task, all while cleaning and trying to KEEP the house clean.  

The best picture of crazy was the day that we were rushing to get ready for a showing…the second showing for this particular realtor and his clients.  That was hopeful!  We were in our usual rush, but we had time and were feeling good about things.  Then I saw a man walking to the door.

It was the realtor!  An hour early!

He wanted to go ahead and show his clients the house.  They were outside waiting in their car.  And an older couple (grandparents?) were in another car.  Andrea said no but told him we would hurry to get ready.  She quickly put the dogs in the garage.  

Then I saw Siggy, their husky, across the street in the neighbor’s yard!

There went Andrea, running across the street in front of the realtor, the clients, and the grandparents…yelling at Siggy…getting him back in the garage…trying to smile while everyone enjoyed the show!

Then we couldn’t find the misplaced car key, so we sat in the other car in the driveway while the group went in to see the house.  

And they didn’t even put in an offer!  

Time was passing!  So, to my prayer for a cash buyer, I also asked God to please let the house sell before I left Houston to return to Wichita.  

Six days before I was to leave, a realtor came to look at the house.  His clients were out of town, but he knew what they wanted.  He thought Kyle and Andrea’s house looked promising.  

And oh, his clients were cash buyers.

We tried not to be too hopeful or to assume too much.

He liked what he saw.  He made another appointment to bring his clients back to look at the house…six days later…the day I was leaving.

We managed to get out of the house 10 minutes before the showing.  A 9:00 a.m. showing was no piece of cake for our two-legged and four-legged crowd!

How we were praying!

Andrea and I were on our way to the airport, Ryker asleep in his car seat, when not far from the airport her phone rang.

Rebecca, her realtor!

“The client’s realtor called,” she said.  “He said to expect an offer this weekend.  A cash offer.”

She was calm. We were anything BUT!

She cautioned us not to be too hopeful at this point.

All I could think of was that God seemed to be in this…and I was still in Houston, like I had prayed.  At the airport, yes, but I hadn’t left yet!  I think God was smiling.

We heard nothing that day, but on the next day Andrea called.

“I got the offer,” she told us.  “It’s a cash offer for the full amount!”  

Praise God!!!

There were a few hiccups in the next couple weeks, but God worked out every detail in the best way for Kyle and Andrea.  

We are also very sensitive to the fact that there is another family who is dealing with all this in a different way than we are.  We know that Kent and Marie, Kyle’s dear parents, are sad to see them and Ryker move so far away.  

They have been nothing but supportive and kind…another reason for thankfulness and love on our part for them.  And we are all praying for their future, wondering what other miracles God might do for them.

Yesterday was closing day.  I can hardly describe my emotion when I received this picture.  

Now begins the next chapter!  

We will see how God supports our lot as He takes care of all our circumstances…including a nervous Uncle Aaron.  

Our Stocking Legacy

When each of us King babies was born, a dear family friend (Janice Vermillion) knit a stocking for us. You can see mine hanging here, a true antique now and yellowed with age – no comments, please. 😅

When each of us King kids got married, my mother knit a stocking for our spouses. When the grand babies came, she knit a stocking for each of them. She even made stockings for our pets!

As she got older and before she could no longer knit, she made extra stockings for the grandchildren. One was for their future spouse, and then extra for their future children – her future great grandchildren.

When Andrea married Kyle, my sister Jan put his name on his stocking. Then when Andrea was pregnant, Jan…the keeper of the extra stockings 😍…sent Andrea’s extra two stockings to her and Kyle so they could have one for their coming baby. Andrea chose the one she wanted for Ryker and I brought it home after one of my visits.

Yesterday, on our quiet Christmas, I put Ryker’s name on his stocking. I had a few conversations with Mom as I finished what she had started before she died. And I shed a few tears as I thought of all the love displayed not only in that one stocking, but in our row of stockings hung at our fireplace. And in the dozens and dozens of stockings she made for people all over the world.

Kyle said it so well as Andrea shared the stocking picture with him. To Ryker he said, “You’ve been loved since before you were born.”

Indeed.

Thank you, Mom, for the legacy of love you have given to us even long after you are not here. ❤❤❤❤

Moving!

I’m writing this on Christmas morning.  Usually, our Christmas morning is full of all the activity that you normally think of, but not this year.  We won’t be celebrating our Christmas until the middle of January.  I’m about to explain why.

And sorry, neighbors, but our outdoor decorations are staying up longer than ever!  HaHa!

Our daughter Andrea and her husband Kyle live in the Houston area.  They have wanted to leave the city for some time.  After little Ryker was born, that desire intensified.  Several months ago, they talked to their realtor there to start formulating a plan.  Nothing was immediate, though.  Their desire was to move to Wichita, where Gary and I live, but there was no concrete plan and no house on their radar.

Last October…on the 22nd, to be exact…I shared with Andrea the burden on my heart about their desire to move.  I told her I didn’t know how she could do that if she was working on a new lab consulting position that was in the works.  

So, I told her about a home for sale here.   Roger and Deane, friends of ours that she also knows, were getting ready to put their house on the market.  Andrea felt that it would be out of their price range, but I encouraged her to contact them anyway.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

She messaged Deane and lo and behold, the house WAS in their price range.  Thus began a crazy week of lining up a loan pre-approval and so many other details…quickly.  Very quickly!

Four days later, Roger and Deane’s realtor took pictures of their home.  They thought the house wouldn’t be on the market for another week or two, but suddenly on that same day a for-sale sign was in their yard and the house was going live the next day.  

Andrea and I talked that evening.  “I’m trying not to be heartbroken and panic at the same time,” she told me.  

This seemed insurmountable.  But during this week God had given me a verse, as He always does.  I was comforted as I read it, writing my memorial stone words in the margin beside God’s words.

“The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You support my lot.”   (Psalm 16:5)

“Kyle and Andrea buying Brown’s house.  October 2023,” I wrote.

The meaning of, “You support my lot,” is this:  You take care of my circumstances.  

What a needed promise!  Whatever happened with this house was in God’s hands.

The next day, Andrea asked if Gary and I could run over to look at the house.  Roger and Deane’s realtor had agreed to have us come and look around on behalf of Andrea and Kyle since they were out of town.  

The dream seemed to still be alive!

Off we went!  It was wonderful to see Roger and Deane.  We stressed to them that they needed to pretend that they didn’t know us or know Andrea…that this was a business deal.  Their realtor was facetiming with Andrea as she looked at the house from Houston.  What a crazy way to try to buy a house!  But God loves crazy.

Andrea and Kyle decided to put in an offer, but they needed a realtor here.  Their loan company recommended one.  Heather and Andrea talked, and in the conversation, Heather told Andrea that she might be hard to reach on Sunday mornings because she would be in church…a church that we know here.  Heather is a believer!  Another evidence of God’s hand!

The weekend was a bit stressful with offers for Roger and Deane’s beautiful home coming in…counter-offers…waiting and more waiting…realtors talking – just everything that goes along with buying a home.  

I was in the bowling alley with Aaron and our friends when my phone rang on that Monday, October 30.  It was Andrea calling.  I wasn’t sure I wanted to answer, but I stepped outside so I could hear whatever news it was.

“They accepted our offer!!” Andrea exclaimed.

And just like that, the dream had become a reality!

It was surreal and amazing and so hard to grasp in that moment what God had done.

How thankful we were!

One more thing.  Who are Roger and Deane?

Well, without giving too much detail, they had stood by our side 15 years ago during a very hard trial.  Stood with us when no one else in that particular group would.  And now God had brought them back into our lives to greatly bless our family again.

Isn’t God just wonderful to weave such a sweet story for all of us?!

But oh, there was so much ahead for everyone.  

So much stress to come.

And so many opportunities for God to show His hand!

I’ll share the next chapter later.  

Good in My Nazareth?

Tis the season for the Christmas story to be at the forefront of people’s lives.  And in the forefront of that story is the little town of Nazareth.  Gabriel was sent there to tell Mary that she was the one whom God had called to bear and give birth to His Son, Jesus.  

Nazareth…a very small dusty town.  Pretty much a place one would pass by rather than linger there for any reason other than to perhaps get a drink of water.  Larger, more exciting towns were nearby.  

Years later, when Jesus was calling His disciples, Philip went to find Nathanael.  He told Nathanael that they had found the One foretold by Moses…Jesus, of Nazareth.

Nathanael’s response?

“Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”

That seems to be the reputation of Nazareth in a nutshell.

But Mary lived there, and her betrothed, Joseph.  Two unknown people in an unknown town…a town nowhere mentioned in the Old Testament or early Jewish literature.  

But the angel said that Mary had found favor with God.

How?  How do you make a name for yourself in Nazareth, of all places?

But that’s just it.  Mary didn’t set about to be noticed by God.  She wasn’t trying to do great things.  She simply lived her life for the glory of God in every mundane daily task that was a natural part of living in Nazareth.

Less than an hour ago I stood by Aaron as he had his third seizure in four hours.  This one was very hard.  My heart hurts.

Afterward, I sat by our Christmas tree and pondered this life that God has given me.  In many ways, I can say that this is my Nazareth.

I have had a taste of the “other” side of life.  Awards, travel, lots of ministry, etc., etc.  

But as time has gone by, my world has narrowed a lot.  The life of a long-term caregiving parent is not exciting.  It is not a life that others point to as they wish they had MY life.  

And all of my fellow caregiving friends know “the look.”  It’s the look that crosses a person’s face when they ask what you do or if you can join in this or that, and you tell them your situation.  So often there is no real understanding.  Sympathy, perhaps.  Compassion, sometimes.

But it’s like they don’t know what to do with you.  

Kind of like being from Nazareth.

But God has a purpose for each of His children in His kingdom.  Even us Nazareth folk.

For God says that He works all things for good in the lives of His followers.  

I have good purpose, right here in my Nazareth.

For every piece of wet bedding washed, every meal cooked, every bathroom cleaned, every doctor appointment, favorite show watched and game played, every story listened to for the 500th time – is just what God has for me to do where He has put me.

He put Aaron with us.  I can look at my life with him as my ministry or as a misery.

Human nature makes us feel that we’re not really being of value unless our calendars are full of events and we are free to come and go as we choose our opportunities.  And this is wonderful for many people.

But for my other Nazareth people…whatever your Nazareth is…know that there ARE good things that come out of Nazareth.

Claim your purpose where God has placed you!

Be faithful there in the messy and the mundane.

In so doing, you are bringing delight to God…and there is no higher calling.

Even in Nazareth.

What Time?

A prominent trait of individuals with autism is a fixation on time.  Not just the current time, as in this oft-repeated conversation:

Me:  Aaron, would you like to go ahead and eat your sub for lunch?

Aaron:  Wait!

He then pushes his shirt sleeve up…WAY up, because he wears his watch halfway to his elbow…and stares at the time.

Aaron:  Not yet.

Me (knowing the answer):  Why not?

Aaron:  Because it isn’t 12:00 yet.  It’s 11:54.

But Aaron is also very concerned about ordering the timing of events in his day.  That particular interchange sounds like this.

Me:  Aaron, would you like to go to Swanson Park for a walk today?

Aaron:  Yes!  What time?

Me:  Just whenever I get done with this laundry and a couple other things.

Aaron:  So what time will that be?

Me:  I don’t know, but I’ll come get you when I’m ready.

Later, as we walk in the park:

Me:  After we finish our walk, I need to run by the house to do a few things.  Then would you like to go to Dairy Queen?  (Silly question!)

Aaron:  Yeah!!  What time?

Me:  I don’t know the exact time.  We haven’t even finished our walk yet.

Aaron:  OK.  So will it be 3:00?

Me:  I don’t know, Aaron.

Later again, as Aaron is happily chowing down on a Choco Brownie Extreme Blizzard:

Me:  For our show tonight, do you want to watch The Big Valley?

Aaron:  Yeah!!

Silence, but I’m waiting for it…and Aaron doesn’t disappoint.

Aaron:  What time?

AAAAHHHHH!!

That last part was just in my head.

Oh Aaron!  He can drive us to distraction with his emphasis on time.  And drives himself into great frustration when his timing ideas don’t match up with ours.  Or even worse, when he asks us what time something will happen, and we don’t give him a precise answer.

Did you know that between the Old and New Testaments, there was a gap of 400 years when the people of Israel did not hear directly from God?  There were no prophets, no visions, no word from God at all.

Just silence.

BUT!!!!

“BUT when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law.”   (Galatians 4:4)

When the time was right in God’s eyes, did He ever speak!  He sent His only Son, born of woman, to live and die in this world so that you and I could be redeemed.  

I’m a time worrier, too.  I wonder why sometimes God seems silent, or why He answers me but not in the way or in the timing I want…and am sure I need.  

But this verse in Psalm 16 has meant so much to me, especially recently as I have claimed it for a situation in our family:

“The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You support my lot.  (Psalm 16:4)

Just as God portioned out the Promised Land to Israel, so He also gives to me what I need but only WHEN I need it…not when I THINK I need it.  

The words, ‘You support my lot’ mean that God takes care of my circumstances.  

When I allow Him to be my portion and my inheritance…I partake of Him in daily communion as I travel this road of life…I learn to trust His timing in all the matters of life that matter so much to me.  

Yes, I’m human and I get impatient and bothered but God is ever faithful and understanding of my fixation on time, much like Aaron’s.

God takes care of my circumstances!

What an absolutely amazing thought.  

Me:  What time, God?

God:  In MY time, Patty.  The fullness of time.  

And that’s really all I need to know.