Some things are forever etched in my mind. I remember it was March 4, 2024, excitedly, I made a Facebook post about getting water services turned on at Big Mama's and tagged Aunt Stefy. Like her, she told me how proud she was of me, how happy she was, then shared a scripture relating to the occasion. She had a scripture or sermon for everything.
For context, I had a hard time with MLGW getting water services and finding the water line at Big Mama's. The triumph in finally having flowing water meant there would be a well watered garden, both at her grandmother's property and within my soul.
Within a few days, she called me back and shared another scripture that resonated with her. It was Jeremiah 32:8. Jeremiah 32 talks about land and inheritance as a sign of God's restoration of Israel's fortune through real estate. The right of redemption is laid out in the chapter. To nite, I never realized how often the word inheritance was mentioned in the Bible- over 200 times.
Aunt Stefy and I went into Bible study for weeks discussing land, real estate, and inheritance. It is said that God works in mysterious ways. This was one of them. She was anointing me on a journey of a lifetime. Positioning and posturing me into my place within my lineage. Inheriting her condo was a right of passage and anointing on a journey of redemptive real estate. It became even more special and divine knowing I had biblical context. She had given me her blessings.
And, I realized that one afternoon when I had begun going through her things. Aunt Stefy was a collector of many things and never really discarded things or organized them in a way to quickly reference something. Knowing that, I approached going through things she left behind slow and intentional. I flipped through every page. Pulled back every box.
While in the kitchen, I discovered a stack of boxes and folders. To my greatest surprise, I heard a whisper from her that said, "NeNe look in that box. I think there's something you would love to have".
I did. There was the original copy of her deed of trust.
In that very moment, I felt like she was taking me through a ritual. I was now undergoing my second act of inheritance rituals. The first being a spiritual inheritance of redemption by buying and reclaiming Big Mama's house. Now, a physical inheritance of inheriting Stefy's place.
Holding a deed of trust that my Aunt Stefy received at 28 years old was so special. In 1984, she purchased a condo in Germantown. The only black woman in her condominium community. She was young and determined to make a life of her own. At the time of her condo purchase, she was grieving my grandmother's death, beginning a career, and settling into a racially segregated community.
She made it through. Stefy's place was a sanctuary and comfort for over 40 years. Through so much, she remained in that condo until her last days.
I proudly hold this deed of trust in my hands as an inheritance and a generational gesture of continued wealth. It takes own an ever great significance because I applied our bible study to this ritual. At the time of her death, she only had a $4,000 balance on her mortgage. It was almost as if she was reading the scripture aloud, guiding me towards full ownership without any hurdles.
FOR YOU OWN THE RIGHT OF INHERITANCE AND REDEMPTION. BUY IT FOR YOURSELF.
WIthin a week, my brother and I went half on paying her mortgage off completely. We had full outright ownership of Aunt Stefy's place. Not only do, I hold the deed of trust but the deed of reconveyance as well. A deed of reconveyance is a document that indicates you've fully paid off the mortgage on your home. It represents the transfer of ownership from your mortgage lender to you.
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