Our House - an Answer to the Prayers of 8 people

Our House: an answer to the prayers of 8 people  by  Annette Schultz

In October, 1980, we knew we would be returning to the U.S. from France, and the kids were quite concerned about where we would live and finding a house for all 8 of us, so I suggested to them that we should pray about it and see what God gives us. They were all very enthusiastic about it, and so during lunch (2 hr lunches for everybody over there), we would say our blessing for the meal and then we would pray, each taking a turn to pray for something they were concerned about with obtaining a new house.  After the prayer and during the meal, the kids talked about what they wanted to receive, and the things they had prayed for concerning the house.

Here is what they prayed for and/or talked about in general concerning the house we would occupy when we returned to the U.S.

The oldest daughter wanted to have trees that flower lining both sides of street as we drove up to the house.  She also wanted a basketball hoop in the back yard.

They all said they wanted to live within walking distance of the school – I had 6 kids who would be attending 3 different schools upon return (elementary, Jr. High, and High School).

They wanted to live on a cul-du-sac. My son wanted to live near water, and he wanted to live next door to the woods.

Daughter #2 wanted a circular drive. Somebody else wanted a back patio. They wanted to have a deck off the kitchen, and daughter #4 wanted to have French doors opening onto the deck.

They wanted a dog house as we would be getting our dog back from my grandmother who had kept him while we were away.

They wanted a fenced yard. The youngest daughter wanted a blackberry bush! They wanted a built-in kitchen complete with dish washer and a breakfast nook. Wall-to-wall carpeting. Two bathrooms.

They wanted a washer and dryer. They were concerned there wouldn’t be drapes, so they prayed for that. The 2 middle girls wanted a living room big enough to do their gymnastics in. They wanted a fire place.

They asked for a 5 bedroom house with a family room and storage area. My husband wanted a shed or workspace, and I wanted a window over the kitchen sink.

My son topped it off by saying he wanted a wood shed beside the house with a hole cut into the living room wall so he could hand wood through it in the winter time.

We arrived late in May and were shown one house – the only house on the market that would accommodate all of us.

As we drove up to the house, on each side of the street in every yard was a gorgeous lavender flowering tree for the length of two blocks. We pulled up in a cul-du-sac to a house with a circular drive that bordered on a small patch of woods.

The house had a 32 X 15 ft living room, with a fire place and adjoining dining room, completely built-in kitchen with a breakfast nook, and a window over the sink – French doors that walked out onto the deck that walked down onto the patio where the owners had left both the basketball hoop and the dog house!

There was a 32 ft. long shop in the corner of the yard, and a blackberry bush (we were told by the realtor) along the fully fenced back yard, which had a gate that led out to the Elementary School yard. Across the street was the Jr. High, and two blocks away was the High School.

The main and upper levels of the house had wall-to-wall carpeting, the vacating people had left all the custom drapes. There was a 32 X 15 ft. storage area under the living room, and there were 3 bedrooms up and two down along with a family room downstairs.

There was a bathroom up, and a bathroom down that was part of the laundry area where the last people had left their washing machine!

The house was located 7 blocks from Puget Sound – we could walk down the hill to the water!

The real kicker was this: There was a wood shed along the side of the house WITH A HOLE IN THE WALL so you could hand wood into the living room in the winter from the shed!

This goes far beyond coincidence, and every single thing the kids mentioned even in conversation was included in that house. The house itself went on the market in October 1980 and sat vacant until May 1981 when we returned and were shown the place.

There have been many more areas where God has answered prayer in my life, but none stands out so distinctly as this one does because of all the different requests and concoctions the kids came up with. Without a doubt He is a great and awesome God, who is able to give beyond what you could ever think or imagine!!