Have you ever struggled to choose a suitable farewell gift for a friend or friends moving away?
How do you decide? Do you choose something you think they would like, or find useful, or is it something to remind them of you? One farewell gift my husband and I received many years ago turned out to be more appropriate than our dear friends could ever have imagined.
In mid-late 1983, my husband Tony was invited by Scripture Union Queensland to take up a Christian ministry position based in Rockhampton, commencing in January 1984. At the time, we lived in Bundaberg.
The appointment had not been made public but, by the end of September, we thought it was time to put our Bundaberg home on the market. Our thinking: “This will give us plenty of time to sell our house in Bundaberg and buy a new one in Rockhampton.” Straight away, we started praying about this.
At the time, only a few people, including our parents, knew about our impending move. My parents lived in Rockhampton.
One weekend in late October, we travelled to Rockhampton to look at properties for sale, with the hope of finding something suitable in our price bracket. We inspected a lot of properties, but in vain. Much to our dismay, we discovered that property prices in Rockhampton were much higher than Bundaberg.
We asked ourselves: Could we afford to buy the sort of house we were seeking? Tony was leaving a well-paid permanent position as a high school teacher to take on a supporter-funded ministry position. His salary would be halved. And we had no other source of income at the time. I was a stay-at-home mum and we had two small children.
A farewell gift
In early November, we told our Bundaberg church family that we were leaving at the end of the year. We had been members of the church for 9 years, had many friends there, and we were involved in leadership roles in a number of the church’s ministries. Despite our excitement about Tony’s appointment and new ministry opportunities in Rockhampton, we were sad to be leaving Bundaberg and the church there.
In late November, one of our church friends organised a farewell party for us and invited our close friends. They presented us with a farewell gift, a Bible text wall plaque. The plaque was quite beautiful, plain and simple. I liked it. It displayed the words from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
At home, we hung the plaque in a prominent place.
I appreciated the gift, but I found the words hard to accept. At the time, I felt anything but joyful or thankful. Not that our friends knew how we were feeling when they chose that plaque and those words.
Our Bundaberg home had been on the market for 2 months, it was reasonably priced, but there had been little interest in it. No offers. In fact, very few people had even looked at the property. And we still hadn’t found a property in Rockhampton. We had been praying fervently since the beginning of October that our house would sell and that we would be able to buy a suitable house in Rockhampton. “Why is God not answering our prayers?” I would often ask.
In early December we travelled to Rockhampton once again to look for a house to buy. We spent 2-3 days searching, with several agents, but again without success. Our home in Bundaberg still did not have a buyer. The agents in Bundaberg were telling us that the market was flat, and there were not many buyers looking for a house like ours.
A loving gift, potent words
Each day I would look at the words on that plaque and say: “Lord, we are praying. Without ceasing. But you are not answering our prayers. This is hard. Really hard. Rejoice? No, I am not rejoicing. Give thanks? I know I should be thankful, but I am not thankful right now.” For me, the words on the plaque were like barbs, reminding me continually of my impatience and increasing frustration that nothing was happening as we expected and as we asked.
After Christmas, commencing on Boxing Day for 10 days, we participated in the Scripture Union Queensland Family Mission at Elliott Heads. Tony was the director of the mission team, so we were very busy and focused on the ministry job at hand. It was a much-needed distraction from the house sale / house purchase concern.
The ongoing house saga
But when the mission was over, it was on again: the house saga. Still no purchaser for our Bundaberg house. Not a single offer. Still no house in Rockhampton (we had an agent looking out for us, but to no avail).
We spent a few days at home in Bundaberg, did some packing, and waited for that elusive buyer. No-one came.
We drove the 300 km to Rockhampton for the third time: our last ditch attempt to find a suitable house there. We did not know what we would do if we did not find anything this time.
On Tuesday 10th January, our agent showed us a house that had just come on the market. It was perfect – just what we were looking for! Given that we needed to relocate to Rockhampton before the end of January, we asked the vendors if we could have a contract with a completion date of 2 weeks. Remarkably, they agreed. Before signing the contract, given that our Bundaberg house had not sold, we needed a bridging loan. The bank agreed. We signed a contract for the purchase of our Rockhampton home on the 11th January, with the completion date due on the 24th January.
The next day, when we returned to Bundaberg, our agent there told us we had an offer on our Bundaberg home! The purchasers wanted to sign a contract straight away.
Thus, on the 12th January, just one day after we signed the contract to buy a house in Rockhampton, we signed a contract to sell our Bundaberg home. When we explained our circumstances, the purchasers agreed to make the completion date for this contract the 23rd January. They were cash buyers, but their funds were conditional on the sale of their Canberra property, which was due for completion on the 23rd January! It was all very exciting, in fact remarkable, but tenuous. We prayed much.
The end of the house saga
The sale of our Bundaberg house settled on the 23rd January 1984; the purchase of our new house in Rockhampton settled the next day, on 24th January 1984. And we did not need bridging finance from the bank!
We could not believe how all of this played out. God had heard our prayers! Truly, we witnessed a miracle. Each of the agents we dealt with (in Rockhampton and in Bundaberg) testified to this. The timing was just amazing; the set of circumstances extraordinary. After months of waiting, God had blessed us abundantly more than we could have ever imagined. Despite my overwhelming elation, relief and thankfulness, I knew that I had failed the test.
A clear message and a lesson learnt
The Lord had given us a clear message in the words on our gift plaque.
God wants us to rely on Him, trust Him, acknowledge our absolute dependence on Him. He wants us to realise our powerlessness to make certain things happen in our lives. And He wants to show us how much He really loves us.
It’s a lesson I’ve had to learn over and over again in my life.
POSTSCRIPT
We still have the Bible text plaque. It’s displayed in a prominent place in our home, in the entrance foyer. It may not match the décor any more, it may not be fashionable, but it is there as our testimony to the particular work of God in our lives so many years ago.
Dear Judy, I read this and I am again thankfull to have met you in Cottbus. I am there for only some hours a week and you went into the shop, when I was there. Who organized that we could meet? Thanks to him or her!
Love Silvia
Dear Silvia. Thank you for taking the time to read this story. I hope you liked it. Yes, it was such a blessing for Tony and I too that we met in the bakery that day. We will not forget you and your mother and sister, your kindness and hospitality. As I said, I will write a little story about our meeting, and add some of the photos I took that day. It was a very special meeting, and not by chance at all! Lots of love, Judy.
What an encouraging story! Thank-you for sharing it, Judy!
Thanks for your feedback, Eve. I’m glad you found it encouraging. Praise God! Love, Judy
This story was so encouraging to read and hear again. That was plaque was a beautiful gift from God and loving Christian friends. It is so incredible to hear of God’s provision at such a trying time. It was so perfectly worked out by him. Praise God! Love A
I am so glad you found this story so encouraging. Yes, it does remind us that our God cares for us so wonderfully, far beyond what we realise and deserve. I have shared this story to help others who may find themselves in a similar situation at some point in their lives. Lots of love, Judy
I was so glad that I found that home for you all at 111 Buzzacott Street, North Rockhampton. God really had his hand on my life finding it as when you left to go home the second time I went out for a drive to that area and my first knock was on this house but no one were home so I went next door and asked the lady in the lower home that I was looking for a house for sale like the highset next door and she said they were away but when they get back home they were going to put the house on the market.
So when they returned I promptly went and saw them and listed the property for sale and phoned Tony that I have a home for you that you will sign the contract when we pull up out front because it’s such a hot property and when we did Tony said where’s the contract. There is more to tell but I am slow typing, Blessings to you all, Regards Sam & Judy Jamieson
Sam, it is so good to hear from you after all these years and to be reminded of the important part you played in this house saga. I had forgotten just how hard you tried to help us find the “right” house, which you did by your persistence. Yes, it is so true that, once you showed us the house at 111 Buzacott Street, we knew we had found the what we were looking (and hoping) for. Praise God that He used you to bring this about. Tony and I were (and still are) so grateful. Many blessings, Judy. xx
Dear Judy,
This story reminds me of many events in my life when God took me right to the edge, to help me know that nothing is in my hand and then to show how everything is in His hands and under His control. Thank you for sharing.