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“Deep and wide, deep and wide, there’s a fountain flowing deep
and wide…” my son Kayden sang this from the living room which is
fifteen feet down the hall from where I was seated. Then God
spoke to me and said, “Yes, there IS a fountain flowing deep and
wide”.
My three year old son, my husband and I
along with our two home based businesses were crammed into a 960
square feet condo in Frederick, Maryland. We desperately wanted
to buy a house but real estate costs in the area were absolutely
out of our reach. My husband David wanted to move us to another
county or even another state to enable us to become homeowners.
My
heart ached at the idea of leaving my parents, my business and
all the relationships I had worked so hard to establish over the
past ten years. So after submitting myself to Lord just in case
HE wanted me to move away (much prayer indicated that this was
not His will), I prayed, believing in faith that God would give
us a house in Frederick. I was even bold enough to ask that the
house be in the City which was even more cost prohibitive
because of the high taxes.
Jasmine
and Kayden Sneed |
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In spring of 2007, shortly after Easter, a friend told me
about a house downtown. As the house was being described during
our phone call, “total rehab of the oldest structure in the City
of Frederick, built with an office as a live/work space, large
family room…,” I knew in my heart that THIS was my house. A
visit to see the place further confirmed that this was indeed to
be our home. There were challenges ahead because the house was
owned by the City and they would only sell it to a low/moderate
income family.
I knew that God would have to accomplish three miracles for
this house to become ours. First, we had to qualify to meet
HUD’s income qualifications – we could not earn too much, which
was an issue with my part time worked added into our income.
Second, we had to be able to afford the sale price, which at the
moment was more than $30,000 too high. Third, they had to choose
us as the buyers.
Although the construction was nearly complete, we waited more
than six months for the City to be ready to conduct the sale.
During this time, I prayed and fasted for the house, believing
what God had promise this to me. Finally, in November, I got the
call that they were ready to sell the property. There was an
application process which would indicate if we qualified for the
purchase and the chosen buyer would be drawn from a lottery a
month and a half later. Miracle number one was achieved –
through generous loan programs and the City’s silent second
mortgage (repayable when the house was later sold or
refinanced), we could easily afford the mortgage payment!
We completed the application process and nearly ran into a
snag – it looked like we would earn too much to qualify. My
faith-filled mom suggested that I pray and “command the mountain
to move out of my way”. I did so, and miracle number two was
brought to fruition – we just barely met those income
limitations!!
There were ten other people interested in buying the
property, so we were prepared to wait anxiously for the lottery
to be held. All the while, I knew that there could be ten names
or ten million and my God would choose us. Turns out that as my
dad said, “He cleared the playing field for us” – we were the
ONLY ones of those 10 who qualified!! The house was ours with no
more waiting!!
God was most generous with us – giving us the most favor
possible through the City and our mortgage company. Because of
their generosity, our mortgage is actually $7500 LESS than the
original sale price! Plus, we received a grant to cover our
closing costs, which enabled us to use the cash we had saved to
purchase an entire houseful of brand new furniture!
The generosity kept coming as family came to help us prepare
our new house with gorgeous paint and decorating assistance.
Three months later, our home is stunning with lots of space to
set up huge train tracks with our son, entertain large groups of
friends, and enough space for both of us to work comfortably
without disturbing one another.
Daily, I am reminded that when God speaks, He WILL fulfill
His promise. I am reminded that He is a God of the impossible, a
God whose love is abundant, a God who is a fountain flowing deep
and wide. |
