Goodbye, Daffodil Hill

Do you think that I have fallen off the face of the earth? :o I'm still here, but the last three months have been truly extraordinary. I spent six weeks in Mississippi in August and September getting my house ready to sell. Before returning to Michigan on September 18, I listed it with a realtor. The realtor showed the house once and only once on Monday, October 5. She called me with a verbal offer within thirty minutes. The house had been on the market for seventeen days!

I countered the offer by phone that evening. Because the prospective buyer also wanted some of my furniture, the next afternoon I emailed the same counter offer with a list of items I was willing to include. Three hours later, the realtor called to tell me that we had a deal IF I could close the deal in one week and be completely out of the house within ten days. I was flabbergasted!

My children and I talked it over and decided that we needed to take this deal. It was going to be difficult, but because we had already done so much during my six-week trip, we believed that we could pull it off. Also on the market, Jamie's house was vacant three minutes away. That would give us a place to stay temporarily as well as a place to store the items that we wanted to keep, but had no room for elsewhere.

I made a few phone calls then went straight to my office to send emails and book a flight. On Thursday, October 8 (my 33rd wedding anniversary), I flew back to Mississippi. Friends from the ministry took me to the local airport, and a friend from Mississippi picked me up in Memphis. Other friends in Mississippi organized work crews, trucks, and trailers to help us move.

The biggest obstacle we faced was unrelenting rain the entire week. Papa's brother, Doug, came from Birmingham on Friday afternoon to get all of the family antiques that he and his children wanted to keep. Heavy rain was predicted for that afternoon, so he came earlier than planned. Local men rearranged their schedules, hoping to get everything loaded before the rain hit. It seemed quite unlikely, but by God's grace, the rain held off until the task was completed. Within five minutes after the door to the U-Haul was closed, the rain began to pour.

The hand of God was also evident as He provided a new home for our canine children, Bart and Rosie. For months we had been trying to find a good home for them. We wanted them to stay together, and we had to be confident that they were going to get a lot of positive attention. Just before the house sold, there was a plumbing issue in the house. Plumbers came the day after the house sold, fell in love with Bart and Rosie, and were thrilled to adopt them. When I saw that family with my babies, I knew that this arrangement originated in Heaven. I think they may actually be spoiling them more than we did.

We closed the deal on Monday, October 12, and vacated the premises the following Friday. When I met the new mistress of Daffodil Hill, I knew that God had specially chosen her to live in my home. She had also lost a child, so we bonded immediately. After spending a couple of hours talking with Mona, I left my home in her hands, knowing that she would love and care for it as I did.

I stayed for one more week with Jamie as we continued to sort and pack. On Friday, October 23, friends from the ministry in Michigan drove down with a trailer to take me home. I arrived home in Michigan on Saturday with my few remaining earthly possessions. At this time, there are still boxes cluttering my small apartment, but I am settling in for the long haul. My bridges are burned. I am officially a permanent resident of my newly adopted state.

I am physically exhausted, but truly grateful for God's provision in so many ways. Daffodil Hill will always be the place of my happiest memories, but the time was right to let go of the past and move on. God has given me a wonderful new life in Michigan, and I look forward to watching His plans unfold for my future here. My times are in His hands.