A testament of faith, and the Introduction to the new owners of 1801

A prelude from Shayla:

 When we purchased 1801 two years ago, we knew that we were called here for much more than just the renovation of a home. We took on a construction restoration like never before and dedicated ourselves to the work. I felt it was very important to allow the story of 1801 continue to be written and share all the details with the community along the way. We went into this project knowing that this home was never meant for us to keep, but it was for someone else, and we just wanted to be apart of creating that sense of home for them. Throughout the entire process I prayed for the right family to purchase and protect this home.

Over the past year the house had been on the market with many different interests and offers, but for whatever reason, nothing would ever come to be. After months my faith began shaking and the testing set in. I was questioning why God wasn’t answering our prayers, not fast enough anyways. But during that wait is when he did an extensive renovation within our personal hearts and the faith building process took place. 

The wait was hard, paralyzing at times. But it drew Dylan and I into a deep dependence upon God. We understood that this was bigger than us and no matter how hard we tried to control it, this was in his timing. Throughout the year we continued to believe, with our children, showing them what it meant to truly live out a life of faith. Even on the worst days when the enemy tries to destroy you ,and on the best days when God gives you the strength to stand again and believe. There is purpose in the wait, and that purpose was about to be revealed….

A testament from Summer Grothe:

“Faith the size of a mustard seed” A rather famous, slightly cliched and semi-overused verse…especially here in the Bible Belt. As a Christian, I've heard it countless times, but this soul altering, faith deepening revelation that comes from these few powerful words of our King Jesus will always be the foundational stones in which our pursuit and eventual stewardship of 1801, will forever be built upon.

It all began years ago when I had noticed that the “big old, everything-green house” on Broadway had been purchased. Evident commotion and new activity had began. My heart was happy that restoration and life was about to be poured into those magnificent walls, but another part of me was saddened and slightly envious of whomever it was that had the grand privilege to renovate and restore this gorgeous piece of Oklahoma history. Ohhh had I wished and prayed that we could’ve been them...the keepers, the restorers, the visionaries, the legacy holders of that big grand Queen Ann Victorian home. But I knew in my heart of hearts, that was so far from a realistic possibility. 

So instead, I drove by every day as they renovated piece by piece, board by board. From my split second drive-by’s on Broadway, I saw the walls come down and her bare bones exposed, before the new walls went up. I marveled at her crystal clear windows and the perfect shade of fresh white paint adorned her exterior. It was all so perfect and precisely thought through. 

True restoration had been given to 1801. Her character, not tampered with, but rather brightly illuminated. She was finished and listed on the market. Who would be the next to own this timeless piece of historical property? Certainly not my husband and I…or so I thought. 

As Shayla mentioned above, “there was purpose in the wait”. That purpose began to unfold for both of our families simultaneously  beginning on the 9th of July 2025. 

The Pursuit of 1801

In August of 2024, we purchased our first house. Our plans were to stay there for at least two-four years. Fast forward one year later, you could say out of the blue or a complete curveball was thrown into the midst of our lives. 

We started shopping for houses, again. Something more suitable with a secondary house on the property for Kenny's mother. We ventured and looked all over the state of Oklahoma. Though nothing seemed to make sense outside of Shawnee, as our family had became firmly planted and rooted here over the last 13 years. God was leading us, but sometimes when you're in the midst of the call to “go out”, you question if you really did hear His voice. You doubt the faith he's given you. On one hand, you consider yourself slightly delusional and a bit insane. On the other hand, mystery and wonder drives you forward to uncover what lies ahead. I questioned him, “WHAT?! Sell our house that we just moved into 1 year ago and begin this entire process all over again?”

 YES. This is exactly what God was asking us to do. 

As the Zillow search and saves kept lingered on, nothing felt right. Until one evening, I text my husband the listing for 1801 (mind you, as a complete joke). I waited for his response and to my surprise, he replied with “set up a showing tomorrow”! 

The moment we stepped foot through the original front door, I was completely caught off guard. It wasn't the beautifully restored hard wood floors or the famous “C” staircase. It wasn't the vintage, dream kitchen or the tasteful design that met my eye everywhere I looked. It wasn't the refurbished claw foot bathtub or the moody library in the turret. Rather, I was flooded with the all too familiar, but personally at the time, very distant presence of God. He was there. He faithfully met me (once again) after a long, dark and very dry season of being the one who went astray from the 99 (a story for another day).  

That’s when God really started showing off. It was in that moment when  years of praying as individuals, as complete strangers, two separate families who were on total opposite paths, became interwoven. That is where God began to surface what His “purpose in the wait” was.

If I had the time, space, and vocabulary I could write an entire book about the next 4.5 months, preceding the pursuit of 1801. There is just too much that God did along the way to document without completely taking over this blog post. But in short, it would testify the way he sustained us, the way he spoke to us daily through scripture and prayer, the way he continuously kept confirming his promises, the way he carried us along the waves of uncertainty and brought us safely to shore. Along this journey I found myself many times in the forest of forgetfulness. But GOD. He never failed. He never does and He never will. He not only provided the vision for the next chapter in our lives, the Grahams’ lives, and the future of 1801, but he was also faithful to provide the path in which this vision would come to fruition. 

The path was nevertheless testing. July through October the growing pains started shooting…but we kept our focus on fervent prayer and God-centered-everything. When he told us to “dig and keep digging until we hit water”, we did just that. Day after day it felt as if we dug until our hands were bleeding and blistered. We woke up each morning clenching our hands onto the hem of his garment. But ultimately, the rest was up to him. Every impossible hurdle, he overcame. He cleared the way through every inspection, appraisal, approval and beyond. 

I had never experienced this level of utter dependency on God before in my Christian walk. He had one thing in mind for us all. He was going to catapult our FAITH, for his glory alone. We were all going to experience the revelation of our faith growing from the size of a mustard seed into a massive tree. From Shayla and Dylan, Kenny and myself, to our children, church groups and prayer circles, our friends and family, and probably even our dogs - so many people stood strong, believed with us and prayed us to the finish line.  

In the end, it was never really about the 127 year old historical house. 1801 was simply, yet profoundly used as a tool in the hand of God to extend his faithfulness to his children and bring restoration to our souls in the process. It was used (and will be in years to come) to ultimately glorify him. Now, on the porch and around the table, we will share the Gospel of the good news.

My husband Kenny and I couldn't be more honored to carry forward the legacy, the baton of 1801 and all that its history entails. We promise to steward it well to the best of our ability and to share the story of past and present as we grow inside into the future. 

Just as we are called to be a light of the world, a city on a hill cannot be hidden (Matthew 5:14). Symbolically, this beautiful property of 1801, was also destined to reflect that scripture to our Oklahoma town of Shawnee.