One Step At A Time When I received the telephone call that my 92-year-old mother had almost died, I knew it was time for her to sell her home and move to Oregon to live with me. She always said that when the time was right, she would move, but with Mother, the time was never right. We had had several frustrating conversations, and it appeared she would rather die alone than to sell. After that phone call, there was no doubt -- the time was right. The thought of having Mother come to live with me was overwhelming, and taking an assertive role with her would be an extremely difficult task. Mother had been alone since my father's death in 1951, and she was fiercely independent. My children were grown and had moved out, so I had no other obligations, but what lie ahead with Mother caused me great concern. I asked the Lord to work out this complicated and potentially hurtful situation. Faith was not flooding my heart, but I did have a peace that the Lord would somehow show me what to do. After Mother recovered, I called and told her she seriously needed to consider selling her home and move to Portland. This time, she agreed, but said she did not want a For Sale sign in the yard, absolutely no lock-box on the door and, to top it off, she did not want people going through the house. Impossible! How could anyone be so unreasonable! Instead of voicing all the reasons that her plan would not work, I told her I would fly to Denver within a week to put the house on the market. When I arrived at Mother's, I went through the house, noting that it was in desperate need of major repairs. Having had a real estate license, I could see where the asking price would be negotiated down by any buyer. I started calling real estate companies and arranged for two agents to come to the house. The first one did not impress me, and the second agent did not seem like much of a salesperson. I silently prayed and asked the Lord to direct me to make the right choice. I was mentally comparing the two agents and considering whether I should call another real estate company when the second agent said he needed to call his office. When he hung up, he said he had good news. While he had been talking with the secretary, another salesperson in his office had overheard the address of Mother’s house and said he was coming right over with his client who was looking for a home in Mother’s neighborhood. The agent and his client went through the house. She liked it and wanted to make an offer. Within two hours, Mother's house was sold at the asking price with no requirement for repairs. The Lord had taken care of the complete transaction without a For Sale sign in the yard, no lockbox and no people going through the house. In three months, the transaction closed, and I moved her to Oregon. There have been several difficult events in my life since Mother's move. I have drawn encouragement remembering how overwhelmed I was at the prospects of getting my mother’s home sold and the dilemma of moving her in with me. The Lord knew exactly what to do, and all He required of me was to take one step at a time. ©Barbara Lighthizer 2005