The following post could sound like a commercial. But it isn’t.
It is the true story of how God worked some of His many miracles over a period of several years.
Sometimes God works through events. Sometimes He works through people. Sometimes He works through both and makes Divine Connections.
This post is dedicated with appreciation to Drew McLellan.
Several years ago, Jay and I began exploring the possibility of building a new house.
We were happy living in our first dream home where we had lived since 1994.
However, we were not sure it was going to be the right “age in place” type of home.
We identified a potential lot in a new subdivision. We called the builder. His name was Drew. Positive point number one. He was accessible. He answered his own phone.
He was friendly. He was patient in answering all our numerous questions.
He listened, not only to what we said, but also to what we did not say. We sensed we had connected with a dream maker.
We came away from that lengthy phone call, thinking we might move into the next phase of dream house number two.
Then life happened. We had a series of medical crises. Sadly, after our very promising phone conference with Drew, we had to switch to survival mode, and just hang on for the ride.
Home building dreams seemed to have ended.
EXCEPT …
God, Who is the ultimate Dream Maker, never quits in dream fulfillment. And always He does far more than we could ever even imagine.
Our daughter, son in law and grandson were living many many miles away. There was no indication that would change. Sad as we were to be apart, we kept in frequent contact by phone, FaceTime, emails, texts, etc.
And then, miracle of miracles, job opportunities lined up and they moved to Kentucky!
The search for a new home began. There were many twists and turns. There were dead ends.
Then they met Drew.
Drew conducted extensive planning sessions where he blended his considerable knowledge with their thoughts and turned it all into blueprints.
He gave his opinions on choices. He gave the pros and cons, but ultimately he let them choose every part of their custom home.
He was a sharp businessman, but also a man of integrity. Every transaction was open, above board, accounted for and had open documentation to back it up.
From the beginning to the end, Drew was involved in every step of building the home. He was on site, often multiple times a day, supervising, checking the work and sometimes doing the work himself.
Drew has been in the home building business for years and has many valuable contacts. He has high standards for quality of work and promised time limits and accepts nothing less.
Before the first papers were signed, Drew said he wanted to do business in a way that assured they would still be friends when the job was done. He accomplished that.
When our daughter and son in law closed on the house recently, we felt not only had they gained a house, but also we had all gained a friend.
Building a custom home … and this was custom in every detail … can be very stressful for the builder and the potential home owners. And in this case, the builder got more than just the potential home owners. He got the parents too!
In a long term relationship of over a year, where each of us continued to deal with all the challenges of life besides home building, it still amazes me to see how masterfully God’s Plans unfolded.
Drew invested in bringing a quality house to life. But he also invested himself in our lives. And yes, he is more than a builder. He is a dream maker!
For now, we are enjoying visiting our daughter, son in law and grandson in their dream home.
We ended up remodeling. But if we ever proceed with our thought of building an “age appropriate” second dream home, we want Drew McLellan to build it!
If you want to know more about Drew, here is the link to an interview with him.
