The First Steps
…Chapter Three
I will spare the lengthy details, but after a visit with my old bishop my wife and I left with some very clear impressions. First we felt that family was to remain a top priority. No matter what happened, we needed to remain close to our family members. Relationships could be nurtured from a distance, though, just as well as from next door. The second thing we felt strongly about was that we needed to fly out to New York to visit the property that we considered purchasing. When we walk on the land that seems to be calling us, we will know whether or not we will be moving. The third feeling was that business for us would be successful. Since my business and my wife’s new business are internet based, location doesn’t even matter.
We began to feel at peace over our thoughts of moving across the country. There is something frightening about this sort of peaceful feeling. Whenever a big change feels imminent and things begin to feel right, that’s when things begin to get tricky. But doesn’t it always get hard just before the good stuff?
Without any logical reason backing up our feelings, it was difficult to share our impressions with those around us. Those who know us have already witnessed plenty of decisions that have appeared to be hastily made and not well thought out (whether true or not is subject to interpretation). While spontaneity has seemed to be a theme in our 4 year old marriage, this was shaping up to be something different and bigger than anything else we had undertaken. We were convinced that we were being led by divine inspiration rather than sudden emotion-driven actions. Since it fits our pattern of occasional impulsiveness, we’ve been a little slow to share our developing impressions of things to come with even our closest friends and family for fear of unfair judgement. Maybe that fear was also a hint of denial as well that we were really meant to leave all that we know behind to end up in a distant city far different from what we are accustomed to.
By Tuesday, we made a couple phone calls to a select few. I managed to get the phone number of the man responsible for selling the farm. His mother married my mom’s uncle after he was born which makes him related to me by marriage I guess, although I had never met him previously. When I called him, he informed me that there was a verbal agreement to sell the farmhouse and 20 acres of the property to an interested buyer. There was no contract yet and a survey would need to be done. When I expressed interest it seemed like things were a little late. I had my questions answered with kindness but got the impression that the deal was done and details just needed to be worked out to finalize before winter. There would be an auction to sell the posessions left in the house and he would be up to visit and clear up paperwork the following week. He would also meet with the buyer while in town. If I submitted an offer to purchase, he would probably consider it, but he felt obligated to sell to the other buyer since plans were already being made.
The phone conversation wasn’t terribly encouraging. A buyer was already lined up with financing and everything and was renting nearby until the sale could be finalized. There appeared to be an opportunity yet to purchase the farm since the buyer was only seeking a portion of the land. This potential opportunity would require me to act fast to get a solid offer submitted before the other buyer could submit his. It seemed a difficult feat and under any other circumstances would have discouraged me from pursuing, yet the feelings persisted. We needed to keep walking through this dark and scary tunnel, hoping for a light at the end of the tunnel.
Not even 48 hours had elapsed from the first thought of buying the old farm and we were already feeling intense time pressure. It was Tuesday the 17th of July and we felt that the offer would need to be made before the seller came to town 8 days later on the 25th. That would mean flying out on just a couple days notice and doing an awful lot of additional preparation to submit an offer on time. How could we be sure this was the right thing to do? Why would we leave everything behind for an old farm and some extra abandoned land? If we were sure about our decision, would we have the faith required to take such a plunge forward? There was so much to consider.
The Big Move