Unprecedented favor
The Sam and Misty Whitman home
The Whitman home.
Misty Whitman never dreamed her family would find its forever home in the mostly wooded, sparsely populated community of Bancroft.
“God led us here,” she said.
Before Misty and her husband Sam were married, he suggested Bancroft as the place where they might begin their life together. It’s a community on the Sabine River north of Starks and south of Merryville. It is where his parents grew up. It’s where Sam has always maintained a hunting lease membership. In Misty’s mind, Bancroft was a place for her husband to getaway and hunt, not a place to live.
“When he would bring it up, I just said, ‘No! No! No! I wouldn’t even consider it,” she said.
The Whitmans had been pricing one-acre tracts in the South Beauregard school district. When a friend told Misty what she wanted for a 10-acre tract in Bancroft, Misty couldn’t believe it. The price, more than anything, compelled her to take a drive out and look at the land.
“I fell in love during the first 10 seconds,” she admitted.
Misty’s brother lives in the area. She paid him a visit. While she was there, she called her husband who was on his way from work.
“You’ll never believe what I just looked at,” she told him.
He was incredulous. So much so that he told Misty that from the time of the phone call to the signing of the purchase agreement, Sam was expecting Misty to tell him she had been kidding around all along.
Misty Whitman is known for finding deals and transforming them with color. She chose neutrals for her floors and walls, knowing she will enjoy adding and changing up colors as projects are completed. The blues and greens for this table and chairs were pulled from a vintage Louisiana map—and unlike many of today’s maps—it does show the community of Bancroft.
Once the Whitmans found the perfect piece of property, they discussed the perfect home. The time required to develop the land gave them the opportunity to consider and weigh all their options. They thought about building new or doing a total remodel on an older home. Misty said Sam can build anything. His contribution to the project would have resulted in considerable savings. However, he is currently working a grueling schedule and making a long daily commute. The Whitmans have one girl in college and two more will be starting college in three years.
After research and deliberation they decided on a 2,280-square foot, four bedroom, two-bath manufactured home. The master suite includes a spacious bedroom, two walk-in closets and large bath with shower, built-in garden tub and double basins. The cost was less than their estimate for a new, site-built home. They took a close look at the construction of the brand they selected. Misty was able to choose her layout, flooring, wall color, finishes, window coverings, crown molding, cabinet style and kitchen and bath counter surfaces.
They had fun visiting the land. On one trip each girl was instructed to stand at what would be the window of her bedroom to ensure each had a great view. One of the girls plans to hunt deer from her bedroom window.
Misty, known as a talented and creative do-it-yourselfer, ordered mainly neutral colors for the home. It’s the perfect backdrop for her projects and love of color, demonstrated throughout the home. She isn’t finished with her decorating, wisely waiting until her front and back decks and landscaping is complete before ordering area rugs. The house is personalized with special touches including paintings from a grandmother, an antique roughhewn bread bowl from Sam’s mother. antique books from Misty’s mother, inspirational décor completed by friends, hunting trophies and keepsake crafts.
Shown here is a dough bowl passed down from Sam’s great grandfather.
Finding a good price for the land, and Misty’s unexpected reaction to the location are not the only reasons she believes God has had a hand in the Whitman’s new address. She said the family had been praying about their house hunt for some time. The incredible peace that permeates the location is no coincidence, according to Misty.
Her new home was delivered with upgrades she did not expect: A tiled shower with a rainfall showerhead, Shaker style interior doors, a high-end entry door with grill work sandwiched between rain glass on one side and clear glass on the other, built-in cabinets in her laundry room, a stainless kitchen appliance package that included a farmhouse style sink and pot filler.
She called her sister who has been generous in the past with gifts to find out if she had paid for the upgrades.
“I knew it had to be Jenee or Jesus,” Misty said, grinning.
Misty had really wanted double glass doors off of her dining area for access to the not-yet-built outside kitchen, but she didn’t order them because she knew it would be an additional cost.
Lo and behold, she got a call from the company and was told that double doors were mistakenly put in and it would take additional time to remove them and reframe the wall. Would she mind if they left them in and didn’t charge her?
The Whitmans received several unexpected upgrades such as the stainless appliances, including the farmhouse sink. Note the oval-shaped stool seats. The narrow profile pushes completely under the kitchen island countertop.
She has been welcomed by neighbors who give her homemade jellies and fig trees.
Misty puts it all down to God’s unprecedented favor and the family’s deep-rooted faith in God during times that would have discouraged some folks.
Many times, as a family, they discussed God’s unprecedented favor while checking out possibilities for a place to call home. They even decided that they’d like to name the place God’s unprecedented favor when they finally found a house to call home.
“Unprecedented is such a big word,” Misty said, “We just came up with the acronym Guf.”
They put their acronym on a sign at the front of their property. It serves as a reminder of their journey from house to home and as the perfect opportunity to tell others about Guf.