Dreams are Valid
Let’s make this long story short, ok? Okay! So back in the day, like in the early 2000’s (haha), I had so, so many dreams. I wanted to do all the things but life happened and I no longer believed my dreams were valid. Then one day, I was reminded that my dreams are indeed, valid. And that was the fuel I needed to push forward.
In December of 2017, I wrestled with the idea of buying a house. Like, with my bank accounts, can I even afford to buy a house?? I went back and forth for a few days and the Saturday before Christmas, I walked into church, stood next to my pastor and I said, “I think I want to buy a house.” His reply, “That’s the best Christmas gift you could give me. Reach out to me at the beginning of the year and we’ll talk.”
That’s exactly what I did. I reached out to him and like the financial guru he is, he started talking numbers. Sir. I. Don’t. Have. Any. Money! He talked about my budget. I cut some things out and started using cash. Got my money under control and he connected me with a lender. This lender told me, no. He said my student loans were too high for me to qualify for a loan based on my income. I was discouraged. I immediately thought, “It must not be meant for me to buy a house.” So I stopped looking and moved on with my life.
Then one day, my pastor called me. I answered the phone and he said, “Hey Tarekia, can you talk?” Of course I could! He told me exactly what he wanted me to do. He’d been working behind the scenes to make my dream become a reality while I’d given up on the dream. (If that didn’t make you shout, you’ll catch it later.)
He instructed me to contact a lady at a local bank and give her whatever she asked. I said okay, called the lady and gave her what she asked. And on April 13, she called me and told me I was approved for a loan! I was shocked. She said, “we’re a credit union, we can do whatever we want with our money.” Aight, bet!
We continue with the process of purchasing my home. I found a house that was a HOT MESS! Most people I told about this house questioned my decision. They wanted to know if I was sure. All I know is this: I had a very strange sense of peace about this house. I knew it was mine.
It soon became time to make an offer. My house needed A LOT of work so my pastor suggested I make an offer that was less than the listed price because of the amount of repairs. He tells me to offer $64,500. Because that was such a ridiculous number considering they were asking for nearly $100,000, I said, “if I’m gonna offer that, I might as well round down and offer $60,000!” I was thinking to myself, “there’s no way they will accept that offer.”
Well, I’m living in my house so something must have happened in my favor, right? Correct! They countered at $64,600! Ummm…excuse me what?! Okay Jesus! You better do it!!
But wait, there’s more! You know you’ve watched the HGTV shows that show you how all the things are discovered when you start renovating a home…well, that’s what happened. The repairs ended up being more than I had money to cover. But Daddy Jesus had my back. The men in my church stepped up and made lots of repairs for FREE!! Like, for free, for free. It cost me nothing.
And if that wasn’t enough…my church paid the downpayment for my home AND purchased all new kitchen appliances. Wild, right! This is just a testament of how God works.
Unbeknownst to everyone, except me and God, I’d written down what I wanted in my new home. I told no one. And everything worked out according to plan. The only thing that hadn’t worked out by closing day were the appliances but God had already set that plan in motion.
What I learned from this entire experience was this: when I trust God with what little I have, He will take that and add tax. Truthfully though, I didn’t dream big enough. What I trusted God with was small, because my faith was small. He met and exceeded my dream but had I not placed limits on Him, I could have watched Him do way more. God will meet you where you are. How big will your faith be when He meets you?
Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my home. And it’s a constant reminder of who God is. But it’s also a reminder to trust God with more. And today, I trust Him with it all. He’s bigger than my wildest dreams, because my dreams are valid.
