Isaiah 43:19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland
On December 21, 2012 the Mayan calendar stopped. Supposedley, this meant the end of the world was going to be on that day, as there could be no other reason for the missing future dates. People were abuzz about "the last day"...and then, we all woke up December 22nd in the same world of the days prior. Go figure.
But for me, on December 21st, it was the end of a world. You see, on that day, I finally sold my old home in Ponder. Signed, sealed and delivered...it is finished. Hallelujah! That was the last existing tangible piece of my past that was still in place. With the sale, the entire book of my past was firmly nailed closed. I cannot begin to tell you what a wonderful feeling that was for me! The burden and stress of owning a home two hours away, as well as the financial strains, continued to keep me tied to a past that I had moved on from in every other way. I felt a hundred pounds lighter and I even did the happy dance when I got the news it was over! Now, my roots are firmly planted in the "Promise Land" of East Texas and my life couldn't get any sweeter.
When I last blogged, I spoke of the "best week ever" and God doing big mountain-moving things. The house sale was one of those BIG things. The buyers had appeared literally out of no where when we had all but given up on a sale this calendar year. We had set our sights on spring time when the market was better for real estate sales. But God said different. Within a 24 hour period, we had a contract when no one had even looked at the house for some time. Even our realtor was in shock! Rex and I both had felt God saying the house would sell by the end of the year, but that had been looking pretty bleak. And after that "best week ever" came the WORST week ever...the house for sale flooded and we were afraid the whole deal would be off; We had a colt die in a freak accident; Packages were lost for family's Christmas presents; We had to deal with insurance adjustors, realtors and upset buyers all while replacing floors in a flooded house (which pushed our closing date back); And being very sick and run down for almost the whole month of December...just to name a few gut-wrenching, faith-crushing blows and nusiances. Talk about tests alongside fiery darts from the enemy! We were crying MERCY! But as God always does, He showed up in the middle of the trials and moved us steadily to the end point. Every single item was remedied in a few weeks, but those few weeks were NOT a fun time at the Neely house. His timing is ALWAYS right on time, every time.
God had promised my business and my home would sell by the end of the year and He was faithful and true to those promises! 2012 was a Big Year for our family! Selling both in this economy was nothing short of a miracle. Because of all the trials along the way, I believe we were much more thankful once the end was reached than if everything had been easy breezy. It is faith-building to know we are right where God wants us and the process of it all grew us closer together as a couple. Now, we are able to move into 2013 and start a NEW book and move forward into the next chapter God is writing for us. How sweet is that?!
So for me, I'm glad the Mayans were a little bit right, at least for me. Looing forward to NEW things in 2013!
Blessings to you all in 2013! Let's all live God's BEST for our lives this year!
JOY
