This morning our friend,Willard, brought us a beautiful cedar bluebird house he made last week. We already have one bluebird house and a dedicated little couple raised three babies in it last year. But this new house is the "Tara" of bluebird houses! The front swings open for easy cleaning and the cedar smells so good! I can see it now-- bluebirds circling our backyard like planes at O'Hare to get a peek at this new bluebird house!
You know, finding a new house can be a challenge even if you're a bluebird. But when you're just a regular human being with not only one of the biggest investments you'll ever make but also your heart on the line, it can be downright scary! Here's our story of our move to Virginia and how God not only has a great sense of humor but also does well in the real estate business!
Three years ago in June, we came to Chatham Baptist Church for the first time to talk with the pastor search committee about Chuck coming as their pastor. About fifteen minutes after we met the committee, we both knew that Chatham was where we were meant to be.
We had moved to our "dream home", a wonderful old house with 10-foot ceilings and huge windows, only 10 months before in a small town in Tennessee. We loved it and thought we would be there forever. But God has a way of changing our itinerary and we've learned to see it as an adventure instead of a nuisance. I wanted to move to Chatham, but in my heart I was so attached to that old house. It had a peacefulness about it that we had never felt anywhere else. It would be a hard act for any house to follow.
The only thing I know to do when God and my "want to" are pulling in opposite directions is just tell him how I feel. It went something like this. "Okay, I know that you want us to go to Chatham...in fact, I want to go myself and I even feel good about it. But, I also feel like you gave us our beautiful house that hugs us when we walk in the door! The thought of leaving it makes me so sad. I can do this, but would you just please find us a house and when we find it would you let me know for sure that it's the one you picked out? I think then I'll be okay with it. Thank you for loving us and caring about details like our house."
Before we left to go back to Tennessee, we looked at about four houses in Chatham. One was too far out of town, one needed a lifetime of work, one was too small, one was arranged too oddly and that was about it. Then Molly, our agent, pulled up in front of a house that said "For Sale by Owner". She called the number and we were walking through it ten minutes later.
This house was a yellow victorian farmhouse built in 1897. It had a big front porch and the light inside came in at all the right angles. The owners just happened to be an artist and a minister! It was a very happy house with cheery colors and a new kitchen and bathroom remodel. I thought it was darling, but I really wasn't that excited because it wasn't at all like my house that I loved in Tennessee.
As we walked from the kitchen into the front hall, I glanced at a little telephone shelf built into the wall under the stairs. I stopped and my mouth must have dropped open. "Chuck, did you see this?!" I said in a loud whisper. "Yeah,it's a cute old telephone shelf," he said as he was about to walk up the stairs. "Yes, but did you see what is on the shelf?!" I said in disbelief as I motioned for him to get back over there and see it.
Chuck walked back to where I was standing in front of the shelf. We stood there together looking at a ceramic bluebird standing alone looking up at us. Not only was it a bluebird but it looked just like the bluebird in my last painting! Chuck said, "Whoa!" We exchanged a knowing look and smiled!
I didn't really care what the rest of the house looked like at that point! I knew it was the one. I knew we would love it and be happy there. We went straight to Molly's office and wrote out an offer which was accepted the next morning. The owners Jane and David were nice enough to let us take pictures of the house and the yard so we could remember it when we got back to Tennessee.
After we got home and downloaded the pictures, we stared at the picture of the bluebird in the hall. It was so amazing! Then, as we were looking at the pictures of the backyard, we noticed something that had totally eluded us while we there. The backyard had a colorful wooden garden sculpture in the shape of a giant triangle!! How did we miss a 14-foot tall colorful triangle??
So, I'm just a person who paints bluebirds walking down yellow roads following the dream God has put in their hearts. Triangles represent the things and situations God puts in our path to show us the way. I asked God for a little sign and got a bluebird and a giant triangle! I still can't help but smile and shake my head when I think about it.
When we moved in, we discovered that Jane and Dave had left the bluebird in the hall as a gift. It was wearing a little post it note that said "Welcome Home!"
"Avenue of Dreams" is my digital painting of this bluebird's twin that I had finished before our trip to Chatham. It's at the top of this page in my Goodthoughts header.
The bluebird looks exactly like your paintings! How sweet!
Love,
Christy
Posted by: Christy | February 21, 2007 at 12:36 PM
Yes, if you want to see the bird close up, go the the Bluebird Paintings photo album and click on Avenue of Dreams. The bird has the exact same eye and the size and shape of it's body is the same. Before this painting my bluebirds were all giant with big colorful eyes. It's pretty amazing when you consider that I painted it before I ever came to Chatham and saw the ceramic version in the hall.
Posted by: Debbie | February 21, 2007 at 04:05 PM