Well, my wife and I are now fully committed to an adventure that began nearly nine months ago.
We had been talking for some time about building our dream home in the suburbs, but in a moment of clarity decided to pray about it first.
After praying, we came to an unexpected conclusion: downsize and move from the suburbs to downtown.
Ten days ago we made the move, closing on the purchase of a condominium on Main Street, moving the next day and then closing on the sale of our house in the suburbs.
The move came with an abrupt lifestyle change. We left a house with a mahogany custom-built library, in-home fitness room, along with a swimming pool and tropically landscaped backyard for a condominium in the heart of one of the largest cities in the country—a condominium half the size of the house we left and 25% the size of the house we were planning on building.
We gave away or sold much of our furniture and many of our possessions, which was the easiest thing to do. The hardest thing was leaving a home and lifestyle we loved and with which we were comfortable.
As I drove away from our old house I thought of what I loved about it. I remembered the times by our pool: the times with the friends, the baptisms of new believers and the quiet evenings with the wife watching the sun set. I wondered if I would regret the decision to move. When those doubts would surface, as they often did as the move approached, I would pray and they would dissipate, but I wondered what would happen once the decision was irreversible.
What has happened was unexpected, but it probably should not surprise me. Since moving, I have not had a single regret. I have not once wished I was sitting out by the pool, or in my favorite chair in my library with a good book.
Apart from the fact that I have loved the transition to city life, I think the reason I have not regretted or longed for what we left is the certainty that we heard the Lord and were obedient to Him. Obedience comes with no regrets and the hope in a God who is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. It is disobedience that is saddled with the weight of what might have been.
So, for now, we are looking ahead expectantly for what lies ahead. GS