Many years ago I heard of a general contractor who was involved in a real estate development. The contractor chose two lots in the new neighborhood. On the lot that was his second favorite he built his dream house. He and his family moved into the house for a year and during that year made a list of everything they would change about the house. Then, after a year, he built a second house, incorporating all of the changes they wanted. After moving into the second house he found that there were still things that he wanted to change. Even someone who is well-funded and has time and skill has trouble finding just the right home.

I have friends who have been married for more than 50 years who have always lived in a brand-new house. Their first apartment, when newly wed, was in a new building where no one had lived before them. Then they purchased their first house in a new development and were the first to live there. During their time of living in that house, they had an addition built to that house for more bedroom space as their family grew. When their children moved out of their home they went shopping for another home and once again found and purchased a home under construction in a new development.

I’m not that picky. I’ve been willing to live in a home that has a few quirks and issues. For 25 years, we happily lived in a house that had a raised living room. The room was a step up from the kitchen and a step up from the entryway. It was a real trip hazard and we learned to warn guests as they entered our home. I have no idea why the home was designed that way. I guess someone had seen a sunken living room and wanted to have the room set off from the rest of the house. It was, nonetheless, a wonderful home for our family. It was our children’s home during their high school years. We had an exchange student for a year living with us. My mother moved into our home at the end of her life. We hosted friends and family and had many wonderful memories in that home.

It is, however, a daunting challenge for us as we look for a new home. Although home prices have eased a little bit after peaking in June, the inventory is still very low. Now that we have set our budget and chosen our location, not too many houses are showing up. We have expanded our search to include a larger area and still have not found the right place for us.

One home looked pretty good online. When we visited it, it was much smaller than it looked in the pictures. It felt closed in and the neighbors were very close on three sides. The entire house needed interior painting, which we could do, but it also needed new flooring in several rooms. In addition, the rooms were arranged in a strange manner, with the laundry room right off of the front door and one bedroom separated from the others meaning that one sleeping in that room would have to walk through the living room and the kitchen to get to a bathroom.

Another home looked promising - until we discovered that getting to the home involved going a mile past the home to a traffic circle and coming back because left turns are not allowed in that part of the road.

We’ve been considering “fixer uppers,” but so far the ones so identified are in such rough shape that it would take months of not being able to live in the house while major systems are addressed, including gutting and rebuilding a kitchen and bathroom, replacing a roof and having the building re-wired. While we have considerable home remodeling skills and a bit more time than other periods of our lives, we do need to be able to live in a home and some require a lot of work before they are ready for move in.

We thought we’d found a really neat home right next to a park and were ready to make a visit and learn more until we discovered in our research that it is in the 100-year flood plain. Flood insurance would add enough to the cost to place the home beyond our reach and we have no desire to live in a home that is at risk to flooding.

Another home has a large back yard filled with trees - a real plus for us - but beyond those trees is a very busy Interstate highway with traffic noise 24 hours a day. Another is located on a hillside and has foundation problems.

All of this doesn’t mean that we won’t find a good home for ourselves, just that the process is taking longer and being a bit more frustrating than we expected. As the end of our lease on the rental where we live approaches, we are getting a little nervous.

We know, however, that we only need to find one home. And we know that no home is perfect. We are willing to accept a compromise from our list of desirable qualities. We’re prepared to go a bit smaller than our ideal. We can put up with a few repairs.

In the Gospel of Matthew, after Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray the prayer we call “The Lord’s Prayer,” he goes on to advise those who follow him to avoid storing up treasures on earth and a few verses later he advises not to worry about things such as what to wear or what to eat. He observes that God cares for the birds and the flowers and God cares for people, too. As often as I have read those words and as often as I have preached on those words, I know in my head that now is not the time to worry. I know that with a little patience and with the help of friends and family we will find a good home. I know that I’ll have a good place to put my bed and eat my meals. Still, I keep hoping we will find a home soon.

In this, as is true in many other things in life, I’m not in control of the timing. I have a friend who keeps reminding me that she is praying that we will find just the right home. I’m thinking of asking her to pray that I will discover more patience.