I'd like to share a little story that took place a few years ago. It was the summer of 2007 and I had just completed basic training and medic training for the Army National Guard. I had been accepted into the accelerated nursing program at Duquesne University and was spending a few weeks working at Ft Indiantown Gap before I needed to move to Pittsburgh for classes that would start in August. In preparation of my upcoming move to Pittsburgh, dad and I drove out for a day to look at some possible apartments/rooms for rent so I would have a place to live while attending nursing school. We saw a few potentials and I was certain one of them would work out. However, that wasn't the case. As the deadline to move and the start date for classes quickly approached, I realized I did not have anywhere secured to live. With hope in my heart and a determination to find something, I loaded up a UHaul truck and made the 4-hour trek to Pittsburgh; my mom following in my car.
I was fortunate enough to be able to get a room at the Air Force Billeting near the Pittsburgh Airport and the plan was to take the truck there, park it, then head into town for some more apartment hunting. Another hitch in our plans presented itself when the car started having trouble on the turnpike. We pulled into a rest stop and topped off the oil. This was enough to get us the rest of the way to the airport so we thought we would be good. We dropped off the truck and headed into town in the car. We saw a few apartments, none that seemed to have much potential, and the car died for good. We were able to find a Pep Boys nearby and got the car to them just before they closed. We then called a taxi to take us back out to the room by the airport.
By now it was getting late, I was getting discouraged, and we realized we hadn't really eaten anything all day and we were hungry. So, we hopped in the truck and found a pizza place that was still open. After some pizza, we headed back to the room. Since the room was in the military billeting section, we had to go through a security gate. As we were driving back to the 'base,' I had come to the conclusion in my mind that I wasn't supposed to go to nursing school in Pittsburgh and we should just turn around and head back to Lancaster in the morning.
I pulled up to the guard shack and the guard asked me to step out and open the back of the truck (standard request). When I opened the truck, it was full of furniture and obvious that I was moving. The guard said I could close the truck and then proceeded to ask, "Not to solicit or anything, but are you moving?" I replied, "That was the plan, but I haven't been able to find an apartment." And that is when God knocked me off my feet. The guard was a landlord and had a one bedroom apartment available immediately. I parked the truck and walked back up to discuss said apartment with the guard. I started moving in the next day. I guess you could say, the rest is history.
Well, these past few months I have been house hunting again. This time, in Monroe County. And this time, I have four furbabies that I need to be able to bring along. I lost count of the number of property managers, craigslist posts, facebook marketplace listings, and road side signs I attempted to contact about houses for rent. A good 95% of them never responded to my emails, texts, or phone calls. Those that did said absolutely no to one or all of the pets and mostly no pit bulls. (Poor Petey gets a bad wrap!) I also looked at what felt like hundreds of real estate listings, as my parents have graciously offered to help me purchase a home. At the beginning of June, we put in an offer and it was accepted on a cute house in a great neighborhood. I informed the camp of the potential new home, but that closing wouldn't be until mid-July at the earliest. The response I got was that I would need to be out of the house at camp by the end of June, no matter what. And then the home inspection revealed too many big concerns and we had to back out. Cue insane amounts of anxiety and fear that I would end up having to pay to put all of my pets in a kennel and stay in a hotel room for an unknown period of time. Also, cue feelings of hurt and abandonment, confusion and more discouragement.
I reached out for prayer with the church I have been attending here and a family graciously offered to allow me to stay with them while I continue my search for a new home; fur kids and all. Several men also volunteered several hours on a Monday evening to help me load my crap into a UHaul truck and then into a storage unit. I cannot express how much this kindness means to me at this point in my life.
It is now a week later and we have looked at at least 6 more houses, a rental house, and had a house sold 'out from under us' (we intended to put in an offer but the seller accepted one before we could get it in). Heck, I have even been pricing used RVs/motorhomes, tiny houses, and vacant lots because I am getting desperate. If the lady at the storage unit hadn't specifically stated that the agreement states one cannot live in their storage unit, I probably would have considered it somehow.
But, I moved in with the family from church, and their two dogs. The girls absolutely LOVE having Tori and Petey around...maybe even a little too much... And I am learning what it is like to have to share a bathroom again. I have a roof over my head, reliable transportation, and 2 jobs that keep me busy. I have even started coaching field hockey for a local team as well. But, I still feel like I am back in that UHaul, sitting at the gate at Pittsburgh Airport billeting and ready to just turn around and give it all up.
But God. The two most powerful words in the Bible. But, God. I know deep down in my heart and soul that He will provide. That He has NOT forgotten or forsaken me. That His timing is not my timing. But, that still doesn't take away the hurt from the events leading up to now. And, it unfortunately doesn't settle all of the anxiety that comes with a temporary living situation. I'm exhausted in so many ways: physically, emotionally, spiritually, creatively, and all the other ways one can be exhausted. I'm pretty sure my nightly cuddles with Petey and Ellie are the main reasons I don't cry myself to sleep every night...
Psalm 6
"O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath.
Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;
heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.
My soul also is greatly troubled.
But you, O Lord--how long?
Turn, O Lord, deliver my life;
save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
For in death there is no remembrance of you;
in Sheol who will give you praise?
I am weary with moaning;
every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping.
My eye wastes away because of grief;
it grows weak because of all my foes.
Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
for the Lord has heard my plea;
the Lord accepts my prayer.
All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;
they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment."
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