Harder than a Century

For the past week my wife and I have been in San Antonio, Texas for the purpose of buying a home. I thought about bringing my bike with me in order to get my first taste of riding in the Texas Hill Country, but I decided I should leave it in Washington and stay focused on the task at hand. It's a good thing too, because I've found the whole process of buying a house a lot harder than riding a century.

First you have to choose a realtor, then you need to decide where you want to look, then what kind of house you're looking for, then you have to locate potential properties from the MLS listings, and then actually go out and look at the properties, because most of the time they don't look anything like they do in the listings. Once you've finally settled on a house, then you have to go through the financing process.

Financing is the worst part of all, because everything you've ever done with money is laid bare for the loan officer (and anyone else who works with him) to see. It reminded me of how I felt as I put on my riding gear after a long, cold wet winter when I didn't ride nearly enough and put on way too many pounds. I felt almost naked in my lycra spandex, with way too much being revealed, even though it was still covered. After three and a half hours in the mortgage office I felt like I did after riding the STP in one day. SPENT!

The amazing thing is that just as God has guided, guarded, strengthened and kept me through many long, hard rides, he has guided and strengthened us through this long process. We hope to close on our new home in a few weeks and be enjoying the new life God has in store for us in Texas. It's exciting. It reminds me of one of my favorite Bible passages, Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust the LORD with all your heart, and don’t depend on your own understanding. Remember the LORD in all you do, and he will give you success."