Hurry Up and Wait...

It's the game we have played all our lives, right?

Today we got up, ran the dust mop around the house, checked the flower pots for blooms that had wilted, we hurried up and got it all done...and then the waiting game began.

And the waiting continued...

We had an appointment with a real estate assessor today. He was to arrive at 1 p.m. Great!! Wonderful time of day, not too early, not too late. Saturdays are usually pretty kick back at the Gwillim home, we do the laundry, yard work, clean up vehicles, you know, maintenance type of things.

If you have been reading our blog you know we have done a ton of work on our home, so we decided to re-fi in order to accomplish a personal goal...getting out of debt with the exception of our mortgage. If the appraisal comes in where we believe it will, we will have NO debt...wonderful goal, one that has kept us motivated to raise the value of our home and just make it look wonderful for whomever God had choosen to appraise our precious refuge.

And the waiting continued...

At 2 p.m. Ed called "Joe's" cell, no answer...left voice mail. Called his office number, no answer...left voice mail. Called his pager, no answer...left voice mail.

At 3 p.m. Ed called the mortgage company rep whom we have been working with and who has been such a wonderful help to us. No answer...left voice mail.

And the waiting continued...is he coming? did he forget? did he get lost? was he in an accident? should we be totally ticked or start praying for this man that we do not know and do not know what could have happened to him.

Ed pulled his van in the back yard and started to vacuum it out.

4 p.m. the phone rings.."Hey, Grandma, this is Rex (as if I didn't know that voice!) we were wondering if you and Grandpa are home and if we could come by in a few minutes, we have a surprise to show you." Not the assessor, better than that... the grandkidlets!!!

4:30 p.m. kids arrive, Kaitlyn has a new puppy and couldn't wait to show us. While we are oohing and aahing over the puppy and I am cleaning up Tristan's toe (gross story, short version is he is going to loose his big toe nail due to a summer crash...gross, gross, gross...and painful as well) the phone rings...

It's Joe the assessor, he is about 30 minutes away...hip hip hooray!

Kids (and puppy) out the door, move the van off the lawn, wash and dry the 2 drinking glasses on the counter. Ready when you are Joe!

When Joe arrived we wanted to tell him all about this old house that we love and call home. Joe: "I like to start by measuring the outside and taking a few pictures." Ok, we'll wait to tell you about the recent face lift our beloved home has gotten. wait, wait, wait.... Now he is in the house. Sitting on the edge of the chair I start to open my mouth... "I'll measure each room and take a few pictures." wait, wait, wait...Joe now wants our tax lot number...I want to explain the transformation of these old walls..."I'll have questions to ask when I get done with the overview." (If he would take a moment and listen to us he would not need to ask any questions because we would be happy to tell him everything he wants to know and more!) He opened the basement door and went downstairs. wait, wait, wait... We are frustrated, this guy appears to have no interest in our home, only the house. Back up stairs, tape measure and camera still in hand.

I have waited all day to see this man, I have waited all day for this guy knowing he was going to inspect my home...who wants to be inspected? Who wants someone to open and measure every closet, write meaningless numbers, codes and comments on a form?

45 minutes after Joe's arrival to our home he comes up from the basement, takes a seat at the dining room table, writes on the form some more...and we wait. Joe's first real comment to us was, "This house looks like a million dollars. You have a wonderful home." Can you believe that? Mr Offical, Mr Follow the Rules, Mr Measurement, Mr I Am Over Four Hours Late is telling us we have a wonderful home. Not a nice house, not a structurally sound house, but a WONDERFUL HOME.

He asked us questions, we answered and he asked more...he loves our home. It is an old house, built in 1928...think "vintage, cottage". He loved the history we gave him about our home, raising our boys, throwing parties, explaining how we fit our family in this tiny home. He loved hearing how we knew how many teenage boys were visiting at any one time-just count the prs of shoes on the porch. Then he opened up...and we found out many things about him...in the end I think he needed to hear that there are still homes...not just houses with people in them. He is an appraiser, he meets many people all over the state (he actually lives 5 hrs north of us) this is what he does for a living, walking through buildings that people live in.

We were happy to share with Joe what this "building" means to us, but we did not need to, I guess this old home speaks for itself, it isn't just walls and windows, paint and carpet, this old home is filled with love and precious memories, this old home is filled with the many prayers that have been said over the years, for salvation, for healing, for health. God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit have all be praised and glorified within these walls. There are sounds of laughter and crying coming from every corner. Babies have crawled on these floors, boys have dressed for the prom in these bedrooms. Screams from waterfights, and bee stings echo in the yard. I have a darling picture of our Maddie on the toilet, trying her hardest to poop in the potty like a big girl!!! and one of her daddy many years before climbing up the inside of that bathroom door frame at about the same age. How do you put a dollar amount on something like that?

We waited all day long to tell this guy that is this not a house, but a home and no matter what he puts down as a dollar amount, the figures would be far under our homes true value. We sure wasted a ton of time today, because we didn't need to say a word.

Thank you Father for filling our home with love and laughter, and so many precious memories that even those who did not experince them can feel them.

Share Jesus, and if necessary use words...

PS. As Joe was leaving I reminded him that in his words, our home "looks like a million" and I was sure there was enough room on his little form to write that number in there, which only added to the laughter within these walls.