When God Rewrote Our Story
How a casual dream turned into an unexpected blessing — a story of faith, timing, and God’s beautiful surprises.
I just realized my last post was written four years ago — and today, I finally felt that gentle pull to write again. Maybe it’s because my daughter is away at church summer camp, and the quiet house gives me room to think. Or maybe it’s because I’ve been reflecting on how the Lord’s hand has been moving so clearly in our lives.
Last year, something remarkable happened — a chain of events so precise, so perfectly timed, that it could only have been orchestrated by God Himself
The Miracle Next Door
Our story began with a property — actually, two properties — right next door to our home.
We had no plans to buy anything. After Covid, like so many families, we were focused on saving, being cautious, preparing for whatever the future might bring. But God was quietly arranging something we couldn’t yet see.
Our home sits on what was once part of a grand 1.5-acre estate built in 1895, surrounded by a beautiful stone wall that still stands about eight feet high at its tallest points.
In the 1950s, a local doctor bought the estate and subdivided it into five city lots. Three were sold to strangers, and the original property became just a fraction of its former size.
Decades later, in the 1980s, a developer built two duplexes on two of those divided lots. Each duplex has two apartments — one upstairs, one downstairs — about 1,300 square feet each. Those duplexes stood between us and the once-connected portions of the land.
A Dream We Laughed About
When my husband and I moved into our home in 2013, we loved its history. Sometimes, while walking along the stone wall, we’d daydream and say,
“Wouldn’t it be amazing to buy all this back someday — to make it one property again?”
We’d laugh because it was completely unrealistic. Two different buildings, two different owners, and real-estate prices that made it impossible. So, it became a playful fantasy — the kind of thing you say with a smile and then go back to cooking dinner or chasing after pets.
But God was listening, even to our jokes.
A Stranger at the Driveway
Fast forward to April 2021. My husband was outside polishing his car when a man walked up the driveway. He introduced himself as the landlord of the duplex right next door — someone we’d never met in the seven years we’d lived there.
He said he was ready to retire, move to Florida, and live a simpler life by the sea. Before putting his building on the market, he wanted to ask us first if we were interested in buying it.
That moment changed everything.
Think about it: he didn’t know us, and at that time houses in our neighborhood were selling faster than ever. Homes were receiving multiple offers within days, many selling for far above the asking price.
He could have listed the building and been done with it. But instead, he waited — and offered it to us directly.
That’s not coincidence. That’s God.
How the Puzzle Pieces Fell Into Place
We soon learned that the lot next to ours— the one closest from our house — had its own story.
Back in the day, that eastern lot had been purchased by a man who lived across the alley behind our property. Eventually, he resold it to the very same couple who later sold our house to us. So even before we arrived, the land’s ownerships were already slowly circling back toward connection — as if the Lord was quietly guiding the pieces home.
When our neighbor approached us that spring, we knew it was an opportunity that felt heaven-sent. We prayed, stepped forward, and purchased the first duplex.
Then, just a month or two later, something unbelievable happened: the second duplex, owned by a completely different person, went up for sale too.
If that one had come up first, we wouldn’t have even considered it — there would have been no reason to buy a building separated from us by another one. But God’s order was perfect.
One property opened the way for the next, exactly when we were ready for it.
Not Chance — Providence
Looking back, everything was connected in ways that only make sense through faith.
The subdivision in the 1950s.
The resale across the alley.
The retirement decision of a stranger we’d never met.
The timing of the market.
The sequence of listings — first one, then the other.
Every detail lined up with precision, down to the month and moment.
If even one part had happened differently, none of this would have worked.
That’s not coincidence. That’s divine orchestration.
A living reminder that the Lord hears even the quiet desires of our hearts — the ones whispered in laughter and forgotten by us, but never forgotten by Him.
Restoring What Once Was
By the end of that summer, we owned both duplexes. For the first time since 1950, all five original city lots were reunited — the property restored to the size it had been more than a century ago.
And for me, a gardener at heart, this meant one thing above all: more room to grow things.
We removed the old wooden fences, reusing the boards to build a lovely horizontal fence. Then I went to work — planting 13 fruit trees (apples, pears, plums, peaches), Hydrangea paniculatas, Hydrangea trees, Heirloom Roses, and a few Japanese maples.
The squirrels, by the way, were thrilled. They’ve been living their best lives — plump, playful, and endlessly entertained by my gardening habits.
And of course, I had to include my signature orange roses — cheerful and full of light.
The wood fence that was dividing the property lines was removed and transformed/ recycled/ reused in an beautiful horizontal fence.
A Brave (and Slightly Risky) Choice
With all the new space, I finally planted my dream trees: two Salix babylonica — Green Weeping Willows.
People love to warn me they’re “messy” and “brittle,” but to me, they’re pure poetry — graceful, nostalgic, and full of movement. When the wind passes through their branches, it’s as if they whisper old stories. They look like something from a Victorian painting — romantic and timeless.
To me, they symbolize the grace of God — strong, bending but never breaking, deeply rooted and forever reaching toward the light.
I planted 13 fruit trees, including apple, pears, plums, peach trees. Several Hydrangeas Panyculadas, Hydrangea Trees, and few Japanese Maple trees.
The Squirrels are partying hard and fattening up around here too!
The Thread Only God Could Weave
When I look back on this journey, I can see it so clearly now — how every event was woven into the next, how every “coincidence” was a stitch in a much bigger design.
If any part had happened earlier or later, it wouldn’t have worked.
If either owner had sold to someone else, the vision would’ve ended.
If we hadn’t been home that day, polishing the car, we might never have met that neighbor at all.
But God’s timing is never late.
He doesn’t rush, and He doesn’t forget.
He aligns everything perfectly — quietly, patiently — until one day, the picture makes sense.
And when it finally comes together, all you can do is stand there in awe, smile, and say, “That was You all along.”
Of course I had to have some more roses.🤗 I’m happy.
God Heard the Desires of Our Hearts
I believe Jesus heard every playful “what if” we ever said. He probably smiled and thought, “Just wait.”
God doesn’t always give His children luxuries, but sometimes — for reasons we can’t explain — He chooses to bless us beyond logic. Not because we deserve it, but because He’s kind and generous and loves to surprise us.
A month or two later, the second building — the one farther down the wall — also came up for sale. And yes, we bought that one too.
If the second building had gone up for sale first, we never would have even considered it. The timing had to be exactly the way it happened — both properties, one after another, aligning perfectly.
Coincidence? Not a chance.
That’s God.
Gratitude
Today, when I walk across the full stretch of our land — from wall to wall — I feel deep peace.
It’s more than property. It’s a testimony of God’s kindness, His timing, and His sense of humor, too. Because I can almost hear Him saying, “See? You thought it was just a dream.”
He restores more than land — He restores hearts.
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures;
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul.”
— Psalm 23:1–3