WRITE2SHINE...
Words to Encourage, Motivate & Inspire
The Property Ladder
“For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need.”
(Philippians 4:13, NLT).
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THE PROPERTY LADDER(A personal testimony on exercising faith)
By: Janice Ramkissoon
I believe testimonies are opportunities for us to send the praises up to God, while encouraging others on their faith journey. We (My husband and I) are currently on a journey which so far, has taught us that trusting God to supply all our needs is the only way forward. We have prayed and He has used others as vessels to carry out His promise, in giving us the desires of our hearts. The following is one such example and hopefully through this testimony, you’ll be encouraged to put your fears aside and step out in faith.
Trouble Brewing:
Five years into our marriage with a two year old toddler, one less wage and had outgrown our studio apartment (coupled with other external issues) had placed a major strain on our marriage and living space. With house prices rocketing, we knew we had to leave London in order to obtain the space required also to maintain our marriage and allow the growth and development necessary for our child to integrate into society.
We found it ‘impossible’ to move to a bigger place, as the proceeds from a studio flat [the property we were about to sell] coupled with the fact that we gave up one wage [half of the household’s income] in order to provide full-time care for our child, would not provide the financial capability. We prayed about it. Though it didn’t make financial sense, being a ‘catch 22’ situation, we decided to sell anyway (literally hoping for a miracle).
Not being able to afford a house we decided to use some of the proceeds to rent a bigger property (against our better judgement and the advice of others) and watch to see the direction in which house prices were moving.
What we thought impossible, God made possible by finding us a three bedroom house to rent which also had a very long garden where we could have outdoor games and nature lessons. Our son could have his new found friends over and there is also a local park which is less than five minutes walk. With God in the midst all things are made possible.
Fear & Rejection:
“For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need.” (Philippians 4:13, NLT). I believe God took us here to reinstate this belief which was further highlighted when a house that was £20,000 outside of our price range was made available to us. The property went on sale months before we requested a viewing because we knew we couldn’t afford a property in this area and with each month’s rent paid, the affordability became less likely. However, having made friends in the neighbourhood, God chose one of them to encourage us to have a viewing and so we did. The property was in immaculate condition and we fell in love with it but reality struck, reminding us that even with re-budgeting we still wouldn’t be able to afford this property – even with the maximum that the bank was willing to lend.
We decided to trust God on this one, we prayed against fear and ask Him to let His will be done. After praying we looked at each other and smiled in excitement as if we knew the answer was ‘It is done’ but there was still a little fear, thinking ‘How are we going to get the money together?’ We did our budget, included money to come in over the process and were still short. We knew for sure that we couldn’t afford it and decided against making an offer. Before the weekend was over we were encouraged by both the estate agent and our neighbour to make an offer, so we did, for the absolute maximum that we could afford – it wasn’t accepted.
Faith, Acceptance & Blessings:
The estate agent told us that the offer wasn’t accepted and that the minimum offer the vendors were willing to accept would require an additional £2,500.00. At this point, it was a test of our faith. We decided to go ahead as we strongly believed that God had brought us this far and would therefore take us the rest of the way. The offer was now accepted and the process began.
Within weeks we were able to cover the additional costs. We found a building society that offered us a better deal where we were getting more money and paying less for the mortgage repayment – it certainly does pay to step out on faith, already we’ve made a long-term saving. Four weeks after the offer was accepted my husband was given a bonus for a project he previously carried out, a month before we were due to complete. He also got a pay rise – What a blessing!! We’ve received vital information that will save us an extra £1,300.00 due for work to be carried out on the property – blessings are flowing, how can we not give thanks?
We boldly stepped out on faith and God supplied our needs, restored our faith and cemented our belief that we can do all things [all things are possible] through Him who strengthens us. If you have an ‘impossible’ situation handling, why not put your faith to work. Allow God to be your guide. Let go of your fears and allow God to carry you through.
Copyright © Janice S Ramkissoon 2005
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