Sunday, September 20, 2009
my amazing roommates
I have a testimony about how God provided for me in terms of housing this year. It was this past May that my plans for housing fell to pieces. I had been planning to live in the same place I lived last year but my old roommate (whose parents own the house we lived in) and I ended up having several conversations from which it was concluded that living together again was not an option. It was a completely unexpected circumstance. At the time, I was so, incredibly frustrated over how something that I just assumed for months was said and done could so quickly slip through my fingers. Even more frustrating was the fact that this conclusion was reached a week before I was supposed to leave for NYC for the summer and I was back at square 1 in terms of housing.
It was while I was in NYC that I had to reach out to my network to see what my options were and if there were any people out there who were in my same position as I was regarding housing. I have to confess my anxiety and lack of faith that God would provide for my needs in such a way so I didn’t feel like I was “settling.” I was so convinced that everyone remotely close to my network of friends had their housing situation taken care of and I was the only one who had been left in the dust. Throughout this whole period, God provided Daniel as my voice of reason – he constantly encouraged me to fight the temptation to doubt and assured me that I had options and that God would provide – all I needed to do is keep praying and waiting.
Then, God brought Anna. Anna had heard about my circumstances and messaged me out of the blue. She explained a little bit of her story, which seemed pretty similar to mine, and confidently shared details about her nature, personality, and expectations to see if we’d be a good fit. I was immediately drawn to her faith, genuine nature, and straightforwardness. After only 1 or 2 conversations over the phone, it was obvious to both of us that we wanted to live together. Anna started looking for 2 bedroom places but we quickly realized that we had a better shot of finding a good deal with a third roommate. Interestingly enough, several third roommate candidates had contacted me on separate occasions but they all fell through for one reason or another. Anna and I were about to give up on the idea of a third person when one of my very close friends told me about Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn was getting ready to move to Texas since she had just graduated from college in May and she came highly recommended by my friend as a potential roommate. I was a little skeptical considering we were on a time crunch but I agreed to speak with her. After speaking with Kaitlyn for a little while that same night, Anna, Kaitlyn, and I ended up having a three way phone conversation. We discussed everything from personalities, family, tendencies of our nature, roommate experiences from past years, housework, and expectations for the year – some topics which I never discussed with my roommates last year the entire year. I was so, so encouraged by the time I hung the phone up and I had so much confidence that with these two girls, it was going to be a great year.
Our next obstacle was trying to find a place. Kaitlyn drove to town to help Anna search for places and the two of them kept me updated on the search. They didn’t seem satisfied with anything they were looking at and for about a week, we thought that we’d have to settle for a 2 bedroom place. Right as I was getting used to the idea of living with someone in the same room, Anna called me to say that they had stumbled across the cutest 3 bedroom townhouse close to campus that was being renovated. Both her and Kaitlyn seemed extremely excited and wanted to sign the lease as soon as I was comfortable. I didn’t have much choice except to trust their judgment and thought it well beyond me to squelch their enthusiasm. We signed the lease shortly after.
I moved in a few days before the start of the semester and instantly fell in love with the house and my new housemates. God truly has knit our hearts together and He has taught me soooo much already about faith, prayer, and His character through their lives and testimonies. Kaitlyn and I have prayed together for everything from healing of sins, to wisdom in making tough decisions, to endurance to complete tedious tasks. Anna and I have shared deep insights and wisdom that we have received from the Lord through our past experiences and mistakes. The three of us have intentionally set aside one dinner a week to eat together. We freely share food, clothes, and other possessions. I am so, so blessed and encouraged.
One of the neatest things is that Kaitlyn, Anna, and I have intentionally celebrated God’s provision together for our housing situation on so many occasions and continue to remain in awe of how God took such broken, uncertain circumstances and question marks and turned them in to something more beautiful than any of us could have ever imagined. My housemates and our townhouse are two things that serve as a reminder to me of God’s goodness every single day. I used to wish that I could package Anna and Kaitlyn up and take them to NYC with me next fall. However, because of their example, I now have faith to believe that if I ask the Lord, He is capable of providing (at least two!) friends in NYC that will encourage me toward prayer and spur me on toward Jesus as much or more as these two girls do presently. Amen and amen! I. can’t. wait.
It was while I was in NYC that I had to reach out to my network to see what my options were and if there were any people out there who were in my same position as I was regarding housing. I have to confess my anxiety and lack of faith that God would provide for my needs in such a way so I didn’t feel like I was “settling.” I was so convinced that everyone remotely close to my network of friends had their housing situation taken care of and I was the only one who had been left in the dust. Throughout this whole period, God provided Daniel as my voice of reason – he constantly encouraged me to fight the temptation to doubt and assured me that I had options and that God would provide – all I needed to do is keep praying and waiting.
Then, God brought Anna. Anna had heard about my circumstances and messaged me out of the blue. She explained a little bit of her story, which seemed pretty similar to mine, and confidently shared details about her nature, personality, and expectations to see if we’d be a good fit. I was immediately drawn to her faith, genuine nature, and straightforwardness. After only 1 or 2 conversations over the phone, it was obvious to both of us that we wanted to live together. Anna started looking for 2 bedroom places but we quickly realized that we had a better shot of finding a good deal with a third roommate. Interestingly enough, several third roommate candidates had contacted me on separate occasions but they all fell through for one reason or another. Anna and I were about to give up on the idea of a third person when one of my very close friends told me about Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn was getting ready to move to Texas since she had just graduated from college in May and she came highly recommended by my friend as a potential roommate. I was a little skeptical considering we were on a time crunch but I agreed to speak with her. After speaking with Kaitlyn for a little while that same night, Anna, Kaitlyn, and I ended up having a three way phone conversation. We discussed everything from personalities, family, tendencies of our nature, roommate experiences from past years, housework, and expectations for the year – some topics which I never discussed with my roommates last year the entire year. I was so, so encouraged by the time I hung the phone up and I had so much confidence that with these two girls, it was going to be a great year.
Our next obstacle was trying to find a place. Kaitlyn drove to town to help Anna search for places and the two of them kept me updated on the search. They didn’t seem satisfied with anything they were looking at and for about a week, we thought that we’d have to settle for a 2 bedroom place. Right as I was getting used to the idea of living with someone in the same room, Anna called me to say that they had stumbled across the cutest 3 bedroom townhouse close to campus that was being renovated. Both her and Kaitlyn seemed extremely excited and wanted to sign the lease as soon as I was comfortable. I didn’t have much choice except to trust their judgment and thought it well beyond me to squelch their enthusiasm. We signed the lease shortly after.
I moved in a few days before the start of the semester and instantly fell in love with the house and my new housemates. God truly has knit our hearts together and He has taught me soooo much already about faith, prayer, and His character through their lives and testimonies. Kaitlyn and I have prayed together for everything from healing of sins, to wisdom in making tough decisions, to endurance to complete tedious tasks. Anna and I have shared deep insights and wisdom that we have received from the Lord through our past experiences and mistakes. The three of us have intentionally set aside one dinner a week to eat together. We freely share food, clothes, and other possessions. I am so, so blessed and encouraged.
One of the neatest things is that Kaitlyn, Anna, and I have intentionally celebrated God’s provision together for our housing situation on so many occasions and continue to remain in awe of how God took such broken, uncertain circumstances and question marks and turned them in to something more beautiful than any of us could have ever imagined. My housemates and our townhouse are two things that serve as a reminder to me of God’s goodness every single day. I used to wish that I could package Anna and Kaitlyn up and take them to NYC with me next fall. However, because of their example, I now have faith to believe that if I ask the Lord, He is capable of providing (at least two!) friends in NYC that will encourage me toward prayer and spur me on toward Jesus as much or more as these two girls do presently. Amen and amen! I. can’t. wait.
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