A friend recently sent a note and said "I need you to revive your Mary Poppins blog."
It's been a while, hasn't it?
Hello, old friend. It's me. Minda.
Let's back track a bit, shall we?
Most of you know I grew up in Texas. Texas was my home for 27 years before I left and made a home in Florida. And y’all know what happened there. 🔥 (no, really. For those who don’t know, my place burned down)
Then I made my way to DC where I made a home for 5 years.
Michigan came next. Michigan was the job I needed and wanted but the place I didn’t want to be. But did I make it work? You betcha. I made a home there, found community, and dove in. I gave it 110%.
Then a pandemic hit.
When you’re in a place that doesn’t really feel like home, you start to crave ‘home.’ But where was home for me? I know the feeling of home, but I didn’t know the location of home. I’d begun to convince myself that no place would ever be home this side of heaven. Maybe that’s just the way it is.
I packed up in January 2021, left all my belongings in storage and began the search for home. #MindaPoppins adventures began. I knew settling down was what I wanted to do, but where? I wasn’t sure.
I started in DC with dear friends. I wasn’t sure about the place, but I knew the people there made me feel at home. Next I visited family on the West Coast. The place didn’t feel like home, but I felt loved and cared for by my people.
Next was Greenville, SC. Close to family— where of course I feel at home. But the place, I wasn’t so sure.
I’d always heard that a place doesn’t make a home, but it’s more about the people. Maybe both together weren’t an option. I think I’d always hoped that both would be an option. But if I must choose one or the other, people or place, I will choose people every time.
But how do I choose people? I am known and loved by people in so many places. I can’t choose one over another.
Florida, Texas and Arizona were going to be the next stops on my #MindaPoppins adventure. I have people there. And if it’s really about people, then I need to see my people.
I planned to spend a few weeks at Lake Lure before heading to Florida when my aunt and uncle in South Carolina mentioned their friends had a condo in Charlotte that was available if I wanted to try out Charlotte for a month or so.
I was living my most flexible life, so why not? I could give Charlotte a try. I had no schedule. I also didn't have community there and had never been to Charlotte outside of the airport, but I knew a sprinkling of people there. It was also close to my grandparents and aunt/uncle in SC as well as an easy drive to Lake Lure. I can do a month. Sure.
I arrived in Charlotte on May 1 and my first 24 hours are hard to explain. I met a slew of people in that first 24 hours and began to feel these twinges of ‘home.’ Surely that can’t be. It’s been 24 hours and everything was new. But everything felt....right.
My first 3 weeks in Charlotte, I had only 4 nights where I didn’t have something to do or people to be with. For a city I’d never been to, with people I’d never met, this was not normal.
After two months in, it began to feel like home. I didn’t want to leave. The #MindaPoppins adventures were supposed to be a month at a time, but two months in, I began feeling like I couldn’t leave.
I landed at a church that was different than any church I’d attended in the past two decades. It was small and not produced, but incredibly welcoming and authentic. These people, from day one, made me feel like it was a place I could put down some roots.
I decided to check out the housing situation here. If I’m looking for home, what kind of homes would be available to me? If anyone was tracking on the real estate industry in 2021, you know this market was insane.
I looked at house after house after house. Several were seemingly winners until investors came in and swooped them up with all cash offers. I couldn’t compete with that. I had a budget and a list; while the list was being met, the budget wasn’t.
A community in the best location had a few townhomes come available but the places were TINY. I looked at two different units and ended up saying, “This is not the community for me.” While the location of Selwyn Village was PERFECT, the homes were just too small. I kept looking.
A month later, my agent said “There’s another property available in Selwyn Village. I know you’re not interested, but I’m going to look. You’re welcome to come with.” Since I wouldn’t feel like I was wasting her time only to tell her it’s not the home for me, I decided to tag along. I looked at the house and thought, “It’s not terrible. My stuff could fit here, I guess.” I told Mai-Lis, my realtor, I’d let her know in the morning if I wanted to put in an offer.
On my drive home, I had a very frank conversation with God. I told him, “This place is tiny and only meets THREE items on my not-so-short list.” To which He very quickly replied: “Minda. Charlotte wasn’t even on your list. Maybe we can toss out the list.” WOOOOOOF. Upon further discussion, Jaryn reminded me of advice I’d given her. I could keep the door open or I could close it myself. I tend to do that. I tend to say ‘no’ FOR God by not even taking the slightest of steps.
The next morning, I was up early to catch a flight to Michigan and decided to put in an offer. But I was just BARELY going to keep the door open. I figured if I don’t put in an offer, I’m telling God I'm not going to allow Him the opportunity to say yes.
Yet I didn’t want to force this. I’ll go in at asking price. With a very low due diligence offer. End of story. In this market, homes were going for WELL over asking price. And previous offers I’d made had a $10K due diligence offer. Not this one. I didn’t want this house. So I was going to make it very difficult for God to say yes. Ha. Asking price and a $2K due diligence offer. Bottom line. Not budging.
I put in the offer and landed in Michigan for a day with my girl Maya. At 2:45p, Maya and I are living our best lives swimming in our old pool when I get a text that says, “Check your email.”
I do as told and read: “Your offer has been accepted.”
Wait. What? I just bought a house? I went in at asking price. I didn’t compete. I didn’t want this house. It’s too small. But wait. I bought a house?
My emotions were wild.
The rest of the day was a great blur of excitement and bewilderment. It only had three things from my list. But it was mine. I resolved that this was the home God must have wanted for me to have.
The next morning, I went to a morning event at my Michigan church. My friend Natasha was leading worship and I sat in my chair and heard God say, “Minda. You sowed a LOT of tears in this house, this church. I wanted you to reap joy here as well.” I landed in Michigan and 6 hours later I had a house. I was with some of my favorite people when I learned the news.
I come back from Michigan and hit the ground running with plans and signing documents. (ALL THE DOCUMENTS).
Then I hit a ..... hurdle. We’ll call it a hurdle.
For about three days, I was in a state of near vomit. I wasn’t sleeping. I wasn’t eating. I was feeling all kinds of emotions. I would go drive by the house and sit outside playing a song on repeat called "God will work it out."
One day at work, I couldn’t focus so I grabbed my journal and wrote: “This is not a surprise to you, Lord. You have not been caught off guard. Help my unbelief.”
The moment— and i do mean THE MOMENT— i wrote the word ‘belief’— my computer dinged letting me know an email had come through. I looked at it and it was the EXACT email I had been waiting for and needed in order to keep the process going.
I kept moving forward with plans and was waiting for the appraisal to come through. This would be the last tricky thing to get through. If the house didn’t appraise for the amount I offered, I was going to need to come up with a significant amount of cash, ON TOP OF the amount I was already going to be paying out of pocket on the front end. The appraisal was the final thing between me and this house.
At this point, there had already been so many things pointing me to Jesus being ALL OVER this house, so I wasn’t worried. I remember thinking, “God clearly has this house for me. There’s no point in me worrying.” And that was correct. The appraisal came back in FOR THE EXACT amount I offered. “God will work it out” became my anthem.
Painters were hired. Floor guys came to sand and stain the hardwood floors. I went to Michigan to get my things out of storage and make the drive to Charlotte. October 9 I moved into my new home. The first home I’ve ever purchased. The first place that was mine.
Never did I imagine I’d go through this process by myself. I know plenty of single women who have purchased their own homes, but I never imagined it would be my story. But this is par for the course. Nothing about my life looks the way I thought it would. This house is not what I envisioned. This city was never on my radar. This experience was not what I thought it would be.
But the constant, through it all, was Jesus. He has been constant and faithful. He has been with me and for me. He has been present and kind. He has been good. And when the next 30 years of my life continue to look nothing like I imagined, I will remind myself that despite it all, He is good.
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