Foreclosed
scottwhaley | February 12, 2010The word “foreclosure” can be heard often in normal conversation these days. So can things like “economic downturn”, “plummeting stocks”, “rampant unemployment”, and “government bailout”. Now call me crazy but these terms don’t invoke warm fuzzies like “hot fudge sundae”, “baby fat”, or “24″ (Sorry. That last one is just my personal preference). What they invoke in most people is insecurity, confusion, and quite possibly panic. Sitting where I am with a job and an up-to-date mortgage it seems very easy for me to say, “Don’t panic. God is in control.” You would think that would be easy for me, but it’s not.
There are two reasons for this. One is a sin and the other is not. First of all: the sin. I am sometimes a worrier. Even though God promised (paraphrasing here) that since the flowers don’t have to bust hump to get their food and water and they are still beautiful, I have to worry even less. God created me in HIS image and so I am the most important thing to him along with 7 billion other “little Hims”. But I cannot get that to penetrate my heart all of the time. And by all ways of reckoning I have it pretty good. I cannot imagine if one of those scary terms above applies to your life. It tells me that if you are faced with foreclosure or unemployment then God looks at you as a pretty strong person. He thinks that you can pull through this! And that leads me to reason two.
I love people. I mean I am an introvert and love alone time and hate talking on the telephone, but I really, really love people. And it flat destroys pieces of my soul to see people hurting. And I really don’t care if the circumstances are self-inflicted or outside of a person’s control. It tears me up to see people going through tough times especially when it results in a crisis of faith.
Life is so hard. So hard! And when extra hurts are piled on top of normal day woes, it flat stinks. We have to deal with work stress, raising children, communicating with spouses, keeping up homes and cars, saving money, paying bills, eating right, and exercising. How horrible is it when cancer, unemployment, foreclosure, divorce, terrorism, crime, and politics are piled onto an already tough scenario. But then there’s God.
God who stays the same. God who gave up Jesus. God who loves me no matter what. I can live on the street or in Beverly Hills. I can eat in the soup kitchen or lobster tail. I can wear no shoes or suede ones. I can drive a car or push a shopping cart. But regardless of my circumstances I KNOW He is in control and my faith is all that matters. Wherever you are, whatever your lot, no matter how horrible things may seem to be…He has a plan to give you “a future and a hope”. My hope is that you will never let your faith fail, because He will never fail your faith.
On the Journey with You,
Scott
Being one of the people that talks excessively about foreclosures,
Grant | February 16, 2010Being one of the people that talks excessively about foreclosures, I felt that I should comment on this. For five years I have been one of the many people that processes the evictions. Normally it is a very easy job due to the fact that the tenants have moved out by the eviction date. However, five times, I have had to set the peoples possesions out of the house. Until recently, this did not bother me to bad because I had the frame of mind that it was just a job and somebody had to do it. However, on January 10, 2010, I had to perform an eviction the affected me deeply. The gentleman being evicted was a 76 year old man who did not understand why he was being evicted. He said that he had sold two properties in Charlotte so that he could pay cash for his new home. Over the past ten years he had suffered three heart attacks and the loss of his wife. Even at his age, he still has a small landscaping business and works six days a week. I told the deputies to let the man contact his lawyer even though we had the appropiate paperwork, and we gave him two hours for this purpose. Once it was determined that he had to leave, I did what I could to lessen the blow. We spent an extra five hours packing the mans belongings into boxes and bags and packing them as tightly as possible into a camper that he had on sight. Then we loaded his appliances onto my trailer and took them to the next door neighbors and put them in his garage. The whole time, I talked to the man about his life and tried to encourage him by telling him that GOD would give him nothing greater than he could bear with GOD’s help. I found that it was like talking to a brick wall. How do you encourage someone when you are kicking them out? Then I decided that possibly I was there to plant the seed and show compassion as much as possible. Since that time I have found out that the land was in tax foreclosure when the man bought it, and there is a possibility that he will get it back because the closing attorney made a mistake. I don’t know what will happen, but I pray that the seed I planted will grow either in the mans heart or in his neighbors because of the compassion that GOD showed through me. It makes me remember that all things work to the glory of GOD for those who love him. So if your struggling, suffering or hanging on to the end of your rope, just let go and let GOD. He WILL help you if you let him.