The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.

Proverbs 16:9

As a family we started looking for a home in February 2020 but soon realized that we didn’t have enough money for a down payment. We decided to wait until September to start looking again. Little did we know that our entire world would be flipped upside down in 2020, but Afa did IT work for a local hospital and was considered essential, and I was able to work from home for the entire pandemic. These fortunate circumstances allowed us to save enough money to resume our search in the fall. 

Many families in the Bay Area were in the same situation we were, and the housing market was extremely competitive. It took eight offers before one was accepted on November 11th, but I know that God really did have the perfect house for us. One of the offers was on the “perfect” house. It was in Hayward, only minutes from Cal State East Bay, which would allow us to stay involved in the campus ministry there, and it was in Alameda County, which meant I wouldn’t have to change any of my in-laws’ government services. It was hard when we lost this bid. It seemed so right, but we knew it was the Lord who established our steps, despite our other plans.

Little did I know that our journey into the house had only begun once our offer was accepted. Our original closing date was December 2nd, but that quickly changed to December 11th. When it appeared that would be the actual closing date, we told our apartment manager that we would move out on December 31st. That seemed like plenty of overlap for us to move into the new house.

Complications soon began to arise, which I have since learned is expected in the house-buying process. Our closing date was changed to December 18th and then to December 24th. Each time I thought that we would still be able to move out by the 31st. We had movers and babysitting set up for December 29th. We were starting to pack and say goodbye to our neighbors and friends. However, it eventually became clear that the closing was going to be in January. We had to switch all the plans (again), and thankfully, our apartment manager was flexible and allowed us to stay until January 15th. Then the roller coaster really started.

But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

Job 2:10

On Christmas Eve, Afa started to have cold symptoms. I teased him a little bit because they didn’t seem serious, and he didn’t seem to have any classic symptoms of Covid – no cough, fever, or loss of taste and smell. Within a few days, the kids and I started to feel sick too. We all got positive tests back the week after Christmas. At that point, I was so grateful that our closing and move had been shifted to the beginning of January. All of us were very sick, and Afa and I were so fatigued that just making meals for the kids required sleeping for an hour afterwards. Every small task felt like climbing a mountain with no oxygen. December 29th, the day we had been so excited to move on, was one of the days we were sickest. God was undoubtedly protecting us by changing our plans.

I would be remiss not to mention the immense amount of help we received. Family and friends from church dropped off food, toys, medicine, and cleaning supplies. We never had to leave the house, and we were so well taken care of. I am still overwhelmed with the kindness and love we received, and I don’t think we would have made it through without the help of so many.

Looming over our family illness was the fact that I knew we were moving on January 8th. Our doctors told us that our final day of isolation was January 7th, so as long as we sanitized the house and kept all the doors open that day, it was safe to have movers come on the 8th. We had already taken the day off work, so if we could manage to pack the house before then, it was the best day to get it done. However, when I looked at the apartment, saw everything we had to pack, and knew how much Afa and I were struggling to do basic things, the entire task seemed impossible. Under normal circumstances, we would have so many people who would have been more than happy to help us; but like the rest of 2020, these were not normal circumstances.

I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.

Philippians 4:13

On Wednesday, January 6th, I was well enough to work from home, and after work I packed two boxes and signed in for Women’s Midweek. I sat at the computer through half the service, but quickly realized I wasn’t going to make it through the whole thing. My Covid headache returned, and my fatigue was so heavy. I laid down to listen to the sermon because I couldn’t sit up anymore and realized that it was possible that we were not going to get packed. We only had one day left, and if I couldn’t even sit up for two hours, how was I going to pack the entire apartment?

I woke up on January 7th with a renewed sense of purpose, but my body did not quite agree. Afa and I split up the areas that still needed packing, and I had the kitchen and the bathroom. It didn’t matter how much rest I got, the fatigue weighed down all my movements. I pulled everything out of the cabinets onto the countertops and then stared at the counters for 10 minutes. I struggled to will myself to finish. Many women were praying for me, and I took a few minutes to pray and ask God for strength. I HAD to finish. The movers were coming the next morning. I took a deep breath and told myself “one bowl in one box.” If I put the bowls in the boxes, at some point all the bowls would be packed. I didn’t have to do it quickly, but I did have to do it. Slowly, I got each of the bowls packed. Then the plates. Then the cutlery. I could see progress. 

I moved onto the pantry and the bathroom. By the end of the night, Afa and I both completed our assigned areas. We were exhausted beyond measure, but we were finished! I sent out triumphant texts to my friends who had been praying. We were ready for the movers.

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