- Jan 11, 2020
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My Son's Dream . . .
I was a single parent back in the seventies. When my son Karl was eight years old they started bussing him to a school in the Berkeley hills. Here Karl discovered the middle class lifestyle and he fell in love. He said, “Middle class people own homes. Why don’t we buy the lot next door and build a house. It will be a good investment."
If this sounds strange coming from a child it is because my son is exceptionally bright. When tested, he went off the chart in one category. I asked someone what this meant in terms of his future. I said, “What can he do with that IQ? ” The counselor said, “Anything he wants.”
The day my son approached me with his idea, briefcase in hand, I told him that we were on welfare and did not have enough money. The truth was I did not share his dream. Renting an apartment seemed good enough for me. This was 41 years ago.
Karl had a difficult childhood because of my alcoholism and being bullied at school, but he never gave up on his dream. Every few years he would come to me and ask me if I would co-sign a loan for him to buy a house. Every time he asked I refused because even though I was now working I did not see the point. I did not share his dream. It seemed to big a dream for me to comprehend.
When Karl was forty years old he rented a house. He started fixing it up as if he were the owner. Everybody warned him that he was making a mistake, but he really loved building a nest for himself. A year ago, he got an eviction notice. The landlord said he wanted to sell the house. Karl had arranged a rent-to-own contract when he moved in so we all thought he was finally going to own his own home.
The landlord had other plans. He really did not want to sell the house, he just wanted Karl out. This was a blessing in disguise because the house was old and needed a lot of repair. So Karl found another house that was even better. It was in the hills in a middle class neighborhood just like the houses of his friends in third grade when this grand scheme began.
For the next 9 months Satan did everything he could to destroy Karl’s dream and his faith. Two loans failed to get past the underwriter. The paper work was endless. I agreed to co-sign and then my husband died and I did not have verification of employment. Karl got evicted before his third loan attempt came through and was living in a boat.
Finally, the loan was granted but the seller balked. He was suing his mother and they had to settle before the house could be sold, “Karl called me and said, “Mom, we have had our ups and downs, but I want you to know I would never sue you.” We had a good laugh. Karl and I had grown close over the pursuit of this dream. The fact that I finally shared his dream healed a lot of old wounds.
The deadline for closing was on Friday, February 28, which was also the anniversary of my father’s death. They were supposed to finish the paperwork and hand over the keys. The title company called to say there is one more thing. “I have to get a verbal verification of your employment.” My heart sank. My employment was taking care of my husband and now he was gone. I had no employment, just his insurance money. I said a silent prayer and said to the man on the phone. “This has been dragging on for a long time. I can’t make it through another weekend worrying about this. Could you please just go ahead and close. God will bless you.” He replied, “Sounds good to me.” An hour later my son called and said they had decided to go ahead and close without the verbal verification and that he was on his way to pick up the keys.
I thought this dream coming true would make me happy, but I was not expecting to be so overjoyed at how much God loved us. When you have had a difficult life dreams coming true is more stressful than disappointment.
Always remember that God hears your prayers and despite disappointments he will reward you for your faith eventually. I am now not only a child of God. I am a homeowner
I was a single parent back in the seventies. When my son Karl was eight years old they started bussing him to a school in the Berkeley hills. Here Karl discovered the middle class lifestyle and he fell in love. He said, “Middle class people own homes. Why don’t we buy the lot next door and build a house. It will be a good investment."
If this sounds strange coming from a child it is because my son is exceptionally bright. When tested, he went off the chart in one category. I asked someone what this meant in terms of his future. I said, “What can he do with that IQ? ” The counselor said, “Anything he wants.”
The day my son approached me with his idea, briefcase in hand, I told him that we were on welfare and did not have enough money. The truth was I did not share his dream. Renting an apartment seemed good enough for me. This was 41 years ago.
Karl had a difficult childhood because of my alcoholism and being bullied at school, but he never gave up on his dream. Every few years he would come to me and ask me if I would co-sign a loan for him to buy a house. Every time he asked I refused because even though I was now working I did not see the point. I did not share his dream. It seemed to big a dream for me to comprehend.
When Karl was forty years old he rented a house. He started fixing it up as if he were the owner. Everybody warned him that he was making a mistake, but he really loved building a nest for himself. A year ago, he got an eviction notice. The landlord said he wanted to sell the house. Karl had arranged a rent-to-own contract when he moved in so we all thought he was finally going to own his own home.
The landlord had other plans. He really did not want to sell the house, he just wanted Karl out. This was a blessing in disguise because the house was old and needed a lot of repair. So Karl found another house that was even better. It was in the hills in a middle class neighborhood just like the houses of his friends in third grade when this grand scheme began.
For the next 9 months Satan did everything he could to destroy Karl’s dream and his faith. Two loans failed to get past the underwriter. The paper work was endless. I agreed to co-sign and then my husband died and I did not have verification of employment. Karl got evicted before his third loan attempt came through and was living in a boat.
Finally, the loan was granted but the seller balked. He was suing his mother and they had to settle before the house could be sold, “Karl called me and said, “Mom, we have had our ups and downs, but I want you to know I would never sue you.” We had a good laugh. Karl and I had grown close over the pursuit of this dream. The fact that I finally shared his dream healed a lot of old wounds.
The deadline for closing was on Friday, February 28, which was also the anniversary of my father’s death. They were supposed to finish the paperwork and hand over the keys. The title company called to say there is one more thing. “I have to get a verbal verification of your employment.” My heart sank. My employment was taking care of my husband and now he was gone. I had no employment, just his insurance money. I said a silent prayer and said to the man on the phone. “This has been dragging on for a long time. I can’t make it through another weekend worrying about this. Could you please just go ahead and close. God will bless you.” He replied, “Sounds good to me.” An hour later my son called and said they had decided to go ahead and close without the verbal verification and that he was on his way to pick up the keys.
I thought this dream coming true would make me happy, but I was not expecting to be so overjoyed at how much God loved us. When you have had a difficult life dreams coming true is more stressful than disappointment.
Always remember that God hears your prayers and despite disappointments he will reward you for your faith eventually. I am now not only a child of God. I am a homeowner
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