By Molly Simpson

Every goal we set has a gestation period.

I honestly can’t remember what prompted me to do it, but I’ll forever be grateful that I followed the nudge.

A few years ago, we were renting a house after losing our home in a real estate crash. It would’ve been easy to join the chorus of thousands going through the same thing, to commiserate and stay stuck in the loss. But instead, I decided to plant some new idea seeds—intentionally, and with hope—that the next home would be one we truly loved.

The house was quiet; the kids had just started a new school year. I pulled out a blank notebook and began sectioning it off by different life categories: Body, Mind, Family, Society, Finances, Spirit, and Home. In each section, I described—in detail—what my ideal life looked like in that area, writing in present tense as though it were already real. It read like a journal entry from a future I believed in.

I returned to the notebook often over the next couple of weeks, refining and adding details. But no section held more passion than the one labeled Home.

I could see myself there. I could feel the warmth from our wood-burning cook stove as my family gathered around it. I imagined caring for animals that found love and safety on our property. I felt the sand between my toes from the edge of a natural spring, and the joy of walking through a thriving orchard that nourished not just our family, but others as well.

Like with most habits, life got busy and I stopped revisiting the journal daily. So, I had the idea to record myself reading it aloud. That way I could “visit” that dream space more often and more easily. I began listening to it daily—sometimes more than once.

What I didn’t realize then was that while I was planting and nurturing those vision seeds in my heart and mind… the house I’d imagined was actually being built, several states away.

Of course, there were times I wished I could just win the lottery or wave a magic wand and have it all appear overnight. But deep down, I was learning what Neal A. Maxwell once said:
“Faith in God also includes faith in His timing.”

Eventually, my husband’s work led us across the country, and we knew—it finally felt like the right place. We decided it was time to settle down for good. We described what we were looking for to our realtor in vivid detail, confident that what we wanted was out there. We found a few homes that came close and submitted offers, but we were either outbid or too late.

Discouraged? A little. But we didn’t let go of the dream.

And then, one morning, I got an email from our realtor:
“I think I found it.”

I opened the listing and couldn’t believe my eyes.
Every detail I had written down years earlier—there it was.

What continues to amaze me is that because I had taken the time to plant the dream, to nurture it with attention and belief (even imperfectly), when the time was right…
it miraculously appeared.

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