In School Stories

Some trials are a direct result of our own actions. We are in school because we created a situation (a mess!) and then look for God to bail us out. God will come to our rescue, but in His own time. These are difficult to write about in a book because quite often there are other people involved or facts too personal for public information.  Let me try.

When I was teaching school, I had a fellow teacher, Joe, who built houses during the summer breaks. He hired me to work with him on various projects. I (emphasis on “I”) decided that we (our family) should build a house. I talked to Joe, who of course, thought it was a good idea because it gave him a good summer project. I figured I could save a lot of money by working with Joe and doing the things I could do. Joe would be the general contractor – the brains behind the project. Bonnie and I could paint and do other things that would save us money. Looking back, I don’t remember seeking the Lord’s counsel at anytime, or even coming to any great agreements with Bonnie. I had made up my mind. I was like a freight train and once I got  rolling down the tracks, it was hard to stop.

We dug the foundation in late April and moved in in early August. I worked endless hours figuring the more I did, the less we were paying Joe and saving money. The year was 1983. The world of finance in 1983 was crazy and getting crazier. Our first hint of problems was our inability to get a conventional loan. School teacher salaries in Nebraska were not great and Bonnie was not working, staying home raising our girls. We finally qualified for a variable interest rate loan which was a foreshadowing of worse things to come. To make a very long and difficult story short, by 1985, mortgage interest rates were at 14%! Couple that with real estate taxes that kicked in after the first year, and we were in a world of hurt. Our house payment and taxes had climbed to over 60% of my take home pay. The sad thing is that the whole amount of our mortgage was less than what a down payment is on a similar house today. 

Never mind, we had to do something. The weight of what was happening was affecting my well being, our marriage, and even going out in public. We came to the decision that we had to sell the house. This in itself was a huge blow to my ego, which in reality was what caused the problem in the first place. What followed was a great series of humbling experiences, telling our parents, telling Joe, and changing my ways.

Through it all, as difficult as it was, I kept up with my daily devotions, praying, and going to church. I remember pleading with God to get us out of the mess I had created. I pleaded for weeks for God to send a buyer that would eliminate our huge house payments. 

It would have been easy to walk away and let the mortgage company foreclose on our house. With interest rates so high, there were very few buyers looking for houses. In my world, when you make a promise, you keep it, regardless of how hard it might be. I met with  the mortgage company and explained our dilemma. I told them that walking away was not an option. We had made a commitment to repay the house loan and we would repay one way or the other.  

God had a plan that we knew nothing about but the loan officer was going to fill us in. Since our loan was for new construction and a final appraisal had not been done, we were required to purchase PMI insurance.  I did not remember anything about that or even know what it was. The loan officer said it was an insurance policy that we had been paying the premium on as part of our house payment. It was in place to protect the mortgage company in case they  had to foreclose and the house sold for less than what was owed. 

The reality of what all that meant did not sink in until a few days later. I realized that if we did sell the house for less than we owed, the mortgage company would get every dollar they loaned us. They would file a claim on the insurance policy we had been paying the premium on to make up the difference. And that is exactly what happened, although not as quickly as I might have wanted. We finally received a deficit offer, which was not uncommon during times when the real estate market was down. God kept me in school a little while longer while all the applications and paperwork had to be approved. In the end, the mortgage company received all the money they had loaned us and we were relieved of a tremendous debt.

Looking back, I can say that sometimes our time in school is caused by our own fault. I had a plan. I got ahead of God. I let ego and pride get in the way of common sense. I learned that even though I was the cause, God’s plans for me and my family were bigger.  That doesn’t mean that I have never been guilty of some of the same mistakes again, but I am very careful to include God and my wife in all major decisions that are made.