I was reading in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, “Home is the dearest spot on earth, and it should be the centre, though not the boundary, of the affections” (Mary Baker Eddy, p. 58). I had been praying to gain a clearer, more spiritual sense of home while I was looking for housing. I made a list of the qualities—which I consider spiritual qualities—a home should have, which included peace, comfort, and refuge. When I was alone, I would sing hymns to myself to keep my focus on the divine, with words like, “. . . And mother finds her home and heav’nly rest” (Mary Baker Eddy, Christian Science Hymnal, No. 207).
Then I found the house! My friend was moving, and the beautiful little house she had been renting was just what I wanted.
When I spoke to the landlord, he said he wanted to sell it. I realized that for the first time in my life, I could actually afford to buy a home. The landlord wanted to sell the house to me without listing it with a real estate agent. He said if I wanted the house, I needed to commit to buying it by giving him a large deposit now, and then, once I had obtained a mortgage, we could complete the transaction. So I gave the landlord the deposit and found a loan company.
