Why are we putting our house on the market?

There are many reasons, and while my husband and I both agree that offering our house for sale is what we want and that we would like to move into a smaller, less expensive Ardmore home, our motives are not exactly the same.  I, for one, am OK with this, because I think it’s totally awesome that we at least want the same thing because this is a big deal for us.  I know God orchestrated it; what comes of it is yet to be seen.

Ok, so back to my reasons.  I would like to add the disclaimer that while some of these reasons are shared by both my husband and me, some of them are solely mine.  So if you disagree or don’t like them, don’t take it out on him.  He’s just an innocent bystander.

1) We have over 2,400 square feet, including 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, a formal dining room, an office, an eat-in kitchen with a breakfast room, and an amazing front porch.  There are only 3 human beings living here, and when I voiced my concern to God about having more kids, I didn’t mean a lot more.  I meant one more.  We will never “need” all of the space that we currently have.  We may “use” it once a year or even once a week, but we will never “need” it.

2) If we are able to get some equity out of our house and put it into a less expensive house, we will be mortgage-free sooner, which means we will have more money to use for other things.  I know some of that money will be spent on ourselves, but I also want some of it to be spent on others. 

3) I worked at a low-income school for 3.5 years until I had my son, and I occasionally went to a few of my students’ apartments (very few lived in houses) to take them home or to take them places.  One of my students who lived in an apartment asked me if I lived in an apartment or a house.  At the time, I lived in a condo so I told her it was kind of like an apartment (although we were not renting it, we had a mortgage on it).  She said she hoped she could live in a house one day.  This stopped me in my tracks because I took the fact that I grew up in a house with a yard and pets and room to run around for granted.  She lived in a run-down apartment complex with a concrete parking lot as her only playground. 

It was also unusual for my students to have their own bedrooms, and some of them even slept on the couch on a regular basis.  One student whose family didn’t have a washer or dryer washed her clothes in the bathtub.  Many of my students’ families only had one car, and oftentimes that car wasn’t very reliable.  One of my beloved students was technically homeless for part of the year, as his family moved from whatever relative or friend would take them in at the time to the other.  I loved that particular student, and at that time, we weren’t even using our upstairs at all.  I seriously considered taking him and his family in, but my husband didn’t think it was a good idea for a variety of reasons, although he did carefully consider the possibility with me. 

I know that I have worked hard and made good choices and some may think I deserve what I have, but I don’t.  Unfortunately, I think working hard and making good choices only gets you so far.  I think a lot more of my success is due to the fact that I was born into a white, middle-class family in the United States with amazingly loving and talented parents who, along with scholarships, paid for me to go to college and bought me my beloved 2001 Honda Accord that I drive and LOVE to this day.  (When we had our son, I briefly considered getting a used mini-van, but I just love my car too much.  I mean it has leather seats, a 6 disc CD changer, AND a tape player- what else do you need?!)  I also attribute my success to my amazingly intelligent and hard-working husband.  We have both been blessed with wonderful opportunities and jobs along the way. 

So, basically, I have way more than a lot of people in the United States have.  And, trust me, you don’t even want to get me started on what little necessities and opportunities people in third-world countries have.

4) “Just because I can have it doesn’t mean I should.”  I read this recently in my new favorite book, 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker, and it has stayed with me.  Just because we are not living beyond our means does not mean that we’re not spending too much on ourselves.  Just because I can afford this house doesn’t mean I should stay here.  Just because I could buy a new mini-van doesn’t mean I should.  And the list goes on… 

5) Lastly, in the words of my aforementioned new favorite author, Jen Hatmaker, “It’s time to face our spending and call it what it is: a travesty.  I’m weary of justifying it.”  I am so weary of justifying my extravagant lifestyle to myself.  I just don’t want to do it anymore.  I have such a peace about putting our house on the market.  I know it’s only a small step, but for me, it’s a big step in my journey of learning to fly.  I am beyond excited to see where God is taking us, and I don’t just mean which house we move to (assuming someone buys our house!).  I mean I feel like I’m on a great adventure, and I feel more alive than I have in a long time. 

Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;
And you who have no money come, buy and eat.
Come, buy wine and milk

Without money and without cost.

Why do you spend money for what is not bread,

And your wages for what does not satisfy?

Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,

And delight yourself in abundance.

Incline your ear and come to Me.

Listen, that you may live;

And I will make an everlasting covenant with you,

According to the faithful mercies shown to David.
-Isaiah 55:1-3