Complicated decisions

Mama’s recent admonition to herself that it was a fool’s errand to spend so much time looking for the right house to buy  - in consideration of our plan to move closer to the church – when we do not even have an interested buyer, held the internet searches at by for about half a day; at best. She has been texting me the link to houses that interest her at a pretty impressive rate over the past few days.

I am of the opinion that when there are too many options, the choices become far to difficult. Limiting those options, defining  boundaries, or drawing parameters to limit the choices is an exercise in patience and prayer. Finding God’s will as we sort through the many good options that are presented to us is a matter of prayer that every believer struggles with; seeking God’s best within all the good.

That is where we are with the sale of the farm and future purchase of a property to replace it. The most important part of the whole series of events – the sale of the farm – has not happened yet but as God gets me and Mama closer to the right path forward, that is imminent. We are struggling with where to go from there.

How much house do we need? How much house and property should we buy? Do we want to spend the next thirty years just paying for a house? Is our long term financial solvency worth some sacrifice right now? Or is a certain type place to live so important that we should commit our entire earning potential to obtaining that and little else?

I told Mama on the way from church home last night that I would love to be out from under the constant financial strain for a while. It is a part of our life that she has never seen in a practical way – that is, as it applies to managing the entire load of financial obligations week to week. We made that choice many years ago and it has worked well for us. However, that could be changing.

Mama got a call from the owner of the Rita’s in southern Alabama yesterday afternoon and the two of them talked for quite a while. That is a business we have talked about for some time. Mama left the conversation with pretty high hopes – and I concur. It is something we could do, something we could afford to do, but not if we spend a lot of unnecessary money on a home; pending the sale of the farm.

She missed a call from one of the corporate directors at Rita’s parent company later in the day yesterday so she will likely have that conversation this morning. The possibility of opening a Rita’s in Denton is what we talked about as we drove to and from church last night. Mama is pretty excited. I share in most of the enthusiasm but I see the “hard work and long hours” vision on the implementation side of that idea.

My children know that I am not opposed to, nor a stranger of, hard work but it had mostly been an effort I have tackled alone. It has been an elusive quest to identify a business that Mama could either run by herself or partner with me to operate. Maybe we have been given that opportunity.

We will see.