Article July 2, 2007 Issue

Where we really live

BY RHEA ROBERTSON BUCK

I sat in my kitchen, tears flowing down my cheeks. The Bible and Science and Health were on the table in front of me. I was searching for inspiration, desperately trying to understand what I was reading. Why were we in such a predicament?

Through no fault of our own, my family found itself in what appeared to be a hopeless situation, with no solution in sight. More than a year earlier, we had purchased a hilltop lot in Seattle. It had a mountain view and overlooked Lake Washington. We were eager to begin building a new house there. First, we needed to sell our current house. But money was tight and houses weren't moving. Our house had been on the market for over a year, and we had no prospect of a sale.

When a family came to see the house, loved what they saw, and wanted to buy it, we were encouraged. But even though they had a top credit rating, they were unable to find financing. No sale.