God sent me to Largs

Mmmm ... sounds like a punishment. No! Largs is a bonny wee place, ferries every half-hour to Greater Cumbrae, ice cream and chip shops everywhere. Its just not St Andrews, though, is it. And I was in St Andrews and The LORD said to me, 'Go to Largs!' So, here am I and so is my family.

Backtrack. Rewind.

The problem with all stories is they have no real start. Did it start when I left Abertay University in Dundee to take up a post at Paisley University (now West Scotland University)? Yes, probably. I took the job for a new start, which I badly needed, then found myself commuting weekly from St Andrews to Paisley, and its Dumfries campus. Now, that aint an easy road to travel. Anyone who has used Scotland's roads knows they are poor and don't go easily from any point A to any other point B.

The problem is that Scotland is rugged and beautiful. There are rivers, lochs (lakes), mountains and valleys everywhere. To get from St Andrews to Paisley involves getting across the rivers Forth and Clyde, and often the Tay too. And these are huge rivers with very few bridges. In the winter it is easy to get up at 5am and head directly across Fife, the Forth, central Scotland and the Clyde. As the brighter days come on this gets harder and harder, until the 85 mile journey becomes 130 miles, not crossing the River Clyde until I have diverted via Loch Lomondside. Check a map - that is not an easy route.

This was all wearing me and my family down. A man away from his house is like a bird away from its nest (Proverbs 27:8). I was getting near the end, as was everyone else. Everything was creaking: my health, my work, my marriage, my relationship with my kids. It was surely a valley of a very dark shadow (Psalm 23).

I took to heading out in my car and going for a drive to get away from things in Paisley. One day I headed off, intending get to a childhood haunt, Garelochhead in West Dunbartonshire. I scooted off down the M8, but missed the Erskine Bridge turnoff. I just kept going and going and stopped in ... Largs.

I phoned my wife, 'Guess where I am?'. She answered, "Largs. I knew you'd be there. The LORD said to me, 'Largs'!"

I was dumfounded. Where on earth is Largs, I wondered? A quick look at a map and it was clearly 130 miles from St Andrews in a straight line; well, as straight as any line in Scotland every is!

Over the next few days I kept finding things saying, 'Largs' to me. We prayed about it and it seemed the place. We investigated further and it seemed ideal: good school, railway direct to Paisley where I am based, great views, but a wee bit seedy, especially when compared to the beauty of our long-time home in the mediaevial university city of St Andrews.

I popped back a few times and found myself outside the Brisbane Evangelical Church and knew in my spirit that this was to be our church. However, all these things need confirmation (Matt 18:16).

One day I was talking with one of my former games students, now studying at the Baptist College in my university. We were standing at the railway station when he said, 'OK, John, what's this about Largs?' At this word a train came in in front of us, going to "Largs"! We both laughed.

However, things were proving tough. Then the LORD spoke to me through The WORD. The words were 'act promptly'. So I made a determined effort to get our house ready around Spring 2008. I was still exhausted, but I knew we had to get our house ready to sell very quickly.

The LORD spoke again and said, 'signs and miracles' (Heb 2:4) would be used by Him to get us to Largs. The signs to 'Largs' kept appearing. Why would we need miracles?

We put our house on the market and it was sold in a flash to a family with cash. They made a decent but not generous offer and we both felt this was right. The estate agent wasn't so sure, but the 'act promptly' was in the back of my mind at all times. It always pays to obey God.

We went to see many houses in Largs, but were always disappointed by them. Nothing was clear & we weren't agreed. The 'two witnesses', my wife and myself, needed to be in agreement. We made one last charge, and decided to look at 5 houses in and around Largs. It was a long hike across the country, again. The first house was in Upper Skelmorlie, at the very top of the parish, 5 miles from Largs. It was a lovely old red sandstone building, deceptively large but would do fine. The second one (this begins to sound like a Goldilocks tale!) was too small, on a main road (not suitable for our old, fat cat, 'Mr Samson Poo'), but with gorgeous views towards the Isle of Arran. The third house was attached to a falling down house. We were really annoyed that estate agents could really be so dishonest, so we cancelled the viewing.

So, off uptown Largs for a cup of tea (me), coffee (Hazel) and a sticky bun (both). We sat in a silence and both agreed that the first house was indeed the house. We were agreed. We cancelled all the other viewings and went home to put our bid in.

Now, the house was on offer at a very low price. We put our bid in with a 24 hour limit. And waited. And waited. Days later we were told, 'There is another bidder and it goes to closing on Tuesday lunchtime.' I decided to bid another £30k. This felt right. If you are walking with Him, hearing and obeying Him become easier.

Tuesday lunchtime came and went. One hour later still no word. Something was very wrong. I knew the enemy was trying to stop me. Two Christian brothers bumped into me. The first one said, 'Phone the owner and ask him what is going on.' Amazingly, for me, I remember his name and called 118118. Amazingly they told me his number. I phoned it. Amazingly he answered it (he was usually posted away from home the previous weeks.) He told me, 'The estate agents are waiting for a higher bid.' I said, 'Thats not right. The closing date is passed!'

Then the second brother bumped into me and said, 'Call your lawyer.' I called him and he said, 'Thats not right. I'll call the estate agent.' Ten minutes later the owner called me and said, 'The house is yours!' I was exhausted and delighted.

This was a miracle upon a miracle upon a miracle, just as God had promised. Tutned out the estate agent (=the enemy) had tried to gazump my bid because the other bidder was offering more, but not cash, and the buyer wanted to accept my bid instead, cutting the estate agent's cut by a few pounds. She was frantically phoning the other bidder to get them to up their bid a bit more to take the house away from me. By God's good grace the phone went unanswered, until my lawyer phoned and threatened them with the entire force of the law.

Now, estate agents are evil, bad people. They certainly in that office in Largs. The enemy did not want us to get to Largs. But, the power of Almighty God is greater than the enemy's power (Job 33:12). Then we found out why we had to 'act promptly' - the entire British housing market crashed that week. if we hadn't marketed, sold and bought right when we did we would never have moved house. I don't want to even think what that would have meant. God loves His children and gives us good things. His grace is sufficient.

By signs and mircales we found ourselves in Largs. Or did we? We were moving to the village of Upper Skelmorlie 5 miles up the roadfrom the town of Largs. Then we got our 1900 title deeds, 'a house of red sandstone to be built in the settlement of Skelmorlie in the Parish of Largs.' And in Largs there is an old graveyard with the aisle of the old kirk where the people of Skelmorlie used to worship.

We are where God wants us to be. We are worshipping where He wants us to worship Him. What we don't yet know is why and for what purposes He has placed us here and in this wee church. I am sure that, as we wait, He will answer.

"Know therefore that the LORD your God is God. He is the fauthful God, keeping His covenant of love to thousands of generations of those who love Him and keep His commands. (Deut 7:9)