Here We Raise Our Ebenezer

So...after that last post...things happened really fast and with much less stress than anticipated and we found an absolutely adorable little place, less than 24 hours later. It is so perfect for us and we instantly fell in love with it. Not two hours after we saw it, we were turning in our applications and the leasing agent was telling us it was ours. 

It's a sweet little two bedroom, one story condo with laminate hardwood floors, crown molding, a GIANT pantry, open floor plan, tons of storage, security screen door that the silly canine can't claw his way through, and no shower doors! That last thing sounds weird...but it was a biggie for me. I hate, hate, hate doors on a shower...I think they're super gross and super hard to clean. I much prefer a pretty shower curtain. SO much easier to clean. Our current place has shower doors and I was really insistent that the new place did not. Silly, yes. But whatever. It's the little things.

The front of the house...I'll post inside pictures once it's like I want it. :)

The landlord and the leasing agent are both great and are pretty much willing to let us do whatever we want, which means I can PAINT THE WALLS and we can plant a little herb garden in the front and there's plenty of room for our grill and little table and chairs. The place is the front unit on a building with only four units total, and the only one story on the building, so it's ALMOST like owning our own house. Almost. We'll take what we can get for now. And the leasing agent is going to push to get us our own washer and dryer in the unit too. She seems really optimistic that the landlord won't have a problem with it at all. Yay!

Needless to say, we are thrilled. And we get the keys a week from tomorrow! So, I've spent the last two weeks purging closets and nooks and crannies getting rid of stuff and Mr. Ford has been collecting boxes from work. Things have been moving right along. But I've started to get a little nostalgic too. The place we are in now has its set of issues that really drive me crazy and I couldn't be more thrilled to be moving out, but...this was our first place together. The place we came home to after our honeymoon. And I've worked hard to make it a place where intimacy can flourish. 

Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to snap a few pictures before I got too caught up in the packing process. Forgive the awful, awful quality and the less than stellar appearance. I'm moving. ;)

My (very) little kitchen. 

Our expanded kitchen/library/study. 

"Dining Room"

Living Room

Bedroom 

Beverage Cart...maybe one of my favorite parts in the house. :)

And because I just can't resist a cute picture of my pup...

We have lived so much life here already, in our 8 short months of marriage, and even in the year before that when Mr. Ford lived here alone before we got married. This apartment holds our tears...tears that have been shed over sorrows and tears that have been shed over joy. This apartment holds so much laughter...late nights of endless laughter and fun. It holds a young woman's first attempts at figuring out the duties of a housewife...many experiments in the kitchen gone horribly wrong and also wonderfully right. It holds a young man's first attempts at providing in many ways for his young wife and their canine. There are moments of self-discovery held within these walls, both individually for each of us, and as a married couple. And most of all, a deepened comprehension of one another and who we are called to be for the Lord and for each other, were observed and found, here in this apartment. The Lord has been so faithful to us and has provided for our every need...emotionally and physically and spiritually...and so much of that is held here, in this apartment. I felt like I needed to remember that...somehow. 

So, I suppose this post is really me raising our Ebenezer. When the Israelites were being pursued by the Philistines in 1 Samuel, chapter 7, Samuel called them together and they prayed and offered sacrifices to the Lord and asked for His provision. And the Lord delivered the Philistines over to the Israelites to be defeated. And in verse 12, it says, "Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer, for he said, 'Till now the Lord has helped us'." Till now, the Lord has helped the Fords. We have prayed and offered our own kind of sacrifices and asked for His provision. And He has responded with the kind of provision that only the Lord God Himself is capable of. He has helped us till now and it should be recognized. The Israelite's Ebenezer stone was established so all would know of the Lord's help to them till now. This Ebenezer post is established so all will know of the Lord's help to us till now. 

All we have and all we are is a direct result of God's goodness to us and we are grateful beyond measure and we move on in faith that He will continue to be good to us. Here we raise our Ebenezer. Amen.