At the end of September 2021 I suddenly found myself homeless.
This is what happened. The Holy Spirit had been nudging me to move out of the apartment I had been sharing with my son for four years. Both of us lived in a 700 Sq Ft one bedroom apartment and my bedroom was the living room.
I began to search for a suitable place to live with Georgy, my Chihuahua companion animal, two months prior to the renewal of our lease.
Every place was either too expensive to afford or it didn’t take pets. I finally found a two bedroom apartment across the street from our complex where I could move in by the end of our lease.
I was concerned about the fact that the apartment was $1400 per month and wasn’t sure I could actually afford it after adding up utilities, internet and the rest of expenses needed to live (like food and gas).
The Holy Spirit nudged me to proceed and so I turned in an application and was approved after my son cosigned. I gave the deposit money to secure the place (apartments were going off market a few hours after being posted) and would sign the lease at the time of occupancy.
I had a little over a month to get everything ready for the move and so I began to pack my things, get rid of whatever I no longer needed, and set up a few friends to help me on moving day.
Everything was going well and I had already completed all the packing. I had one week left before moving into my new space. I was getting very excited by the fact that my apartment was on the second floor (the top floor in my building), an end unit and had two wonderful balconies where I could grow my favorite flowers. An interesting detail was that the name of the street that leads into the complex was “New Crossing Point.” I thought it to be a very reassuring sign from Spirit.
That afternoon, I ran into Maria and her dog Moses during my walk with Georgy in the neighborhood park.
Maria and Moses lived in the complex I was moving into and she was very excited to have us as neighbors.
“There is something I have been struggling with that I need to tell you. I don’t like to interfere in people’s choices and life but the Holy Spirit has been nudging me every day to tell you more about the place you are moving into.” Maria told me with a very serious look on her face.
I nodded for her to proceed. If the Holy Spirit has a message for me from another person the least I can do is to listen to it.
“The place is not a good place to live. Because some of the apartments are section 8 there are several gang members that live there and they go around breaking into people’s cars, stealing the gasoline out of their tanks and breaking into the apartments when tenants aren’t home. They do and sell heavy duty drugs and stay up all night smoking, drinking and playing music out loud. Many neighbors have complained with the manager but nothing gets done. This has been going on for years and in the last year it has gotten much worse. I have been looking to move myself but have not been able to find an affordable place so far.” She concluded, stared at me and found me staring back speechless.
“Had the Holy Spirit abandoned me and left me out to dry?” The fleeting thought crossed my mind as a shiver ran up my spine.
As best I could I thanked Mary and returned to my apartment. My mind was spinning in every possible direction trying to figure it all out. I stopped paying attention to it and instead decided to check for myself if what Maria was telling me was indeed the case. That evening I walked across the street into the complex. I noticed the ground covered with cigarette buds, people smoking heavily, music being played out loud. It was enough for me to realize this was not a good place to live.
Early the next morning I asked the Holy Spirit to walk with me through this journey. I called around and found a storage unit a mile away from the apartment, they offered the first month rent free and a very good monthly fee.
After I thanked the Holy Spirit for the find, I texted a friend who lived a couple of miles from my apartment to ask if I could stay with her and her husband until I found a place to live. The answer came almost immediately, a sound yes.
By now, I was beginning to breathe better. I could feel God’s presence walking me through each step and things were falling into place.
The last thing was to call my friends and let them know of the change in the plan. At the end of the week my belongings moved into storage and I moved in with my friend.
I was making the best of an unexpected situation yet my mind still couldn’t reconcile why the Holy Spirit had nudged me to move into a place that wasn’t suitable.
Upon contemplating on it for several weeks I finally understood the spiritual reason behind it. The “New Crossing Point” was the clue. I was being tested by the Divine to see what I would, out of my free will, choose to do. Was I really ready for something new or was I only looking to survive? Was I going to choose to live in an unsuitable place, paying top price for it or was I going to trust Spirit and walk with IT into the unknown?
I was glad I had chosen the latter path after all. Now I needed to see where it was leading me and trust in a positive outcome.
A month went by and nothing showed up. The Holy Spirit had suddenly gone silent. I was getting no nudges and no answers during my times of prayer and contemplation.
I decided to relinquish my possessions and to just keep the bare minimum. I sold most of my furniture, donated lots of items and began to empty the storage place.
My friend had offered me to stay at her place for a couple of months which meant that by the end of November I needed to be out. I am sure she would have let me stay longer but I could sense that my time there was coming to an end.
I was preparing myself physically, mentally and emotionally to live out of my car and so I was letting go of all the big and heavy stuff and keeping those things that would come handy in that situation. I was feeling pretty okay with the idea and looking at it as going on a new adventure.
Most of my friends felt horrified by the idea of living in a car and were trying to dissuade me at all cost. I smiled and kept going. At times I struggled with a deep sense of shame for what was happening to me, but I gave it all to Spirit and continued to move forward into the unknown.
One morning I had loaded up my car with things to donate. Georgy was sitting on top of the pile as I was driving along the heavy trafficked road. I decided to turn into Costco to get some gas before reaching the donation place. On my way to Costco I reached out to the Holy Spirit, “I just want you to know that whatever the plan you have for me I am willing and ready to go with it. I trust you and love you. Show me the way; show me what my next step is. Living in a state of uncertainty is not easy and I need some guidance from you.”I prayed out loud.
I sat in my car in line waiting for my turn to gas up. I noticed to the far right, in the adjacent parking lot, a woman dressed in a blue sweater and a blue hat walking around the cars in the gas lot.
“That is strange.” I thought. “I wonder where she is going.”
She reached the line of cars I was in and came straight towards my car, walked around the front and stood next to my window.
She smiled and pointed her finger at Georgy letting me know he was cute. Then, she motioned for me to roll down my window.
My mind was trying to understand what was happening and wondering if she was one of the many homeless in town asking for money. “You are knocking at the wrong window, lady. “I thought.
She motioned again with her bright smile for me to roll down the window.
“Is this safe?” I asked the Holy Spirit. I got the nudge to go along and see for myself.
She had a warm smile, the most beautiful brilliant blue eyes and a very sweet disposition. “I saw you driving on the main road and chased after you all the way here.” She said, always smiling.
“Why were you chasing me?” My mind wondered.
“I have a message for you.” She continued. “Jesus loves you.”
I smiled back and replied, “I know he does and I love him too, very much.”
“Yes, he knows you love him. He told me that you do.” She continued. “He asked me to bless you with this today.” She pushed her right arm through the window and inside the car. Her fist was closed and facing down.
Tentatively I put my right hand under her fist. She opened it and a one hundred dollar bill dropped in my hand.
Speechless I turned to look at her. Her face was pure shining light as her eyes looked into mine. “He wants you to know that he is always with you. He has not abandoned you and that he’s got your back.” She related Jesus message given to her for me.
Tears rolled down my face as I felt the love and grace of God enter my heart and wash over me.
“Dear lady, I thank you for the money, but what really matters the most to me is the message you just gave me. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for listening and sharing with me in the love of Christ.” I choked up.
I asked her name, it was Sue. I thanked her again. The cars in front of me moved up and it was time for us to part.
The very next day I received an email from a senior apartment building that had been under construction and where I had applied several months prior. I was qualified and I moved into a nice place with a rent I can afford and that includes all the utilities on December 2nd.
Thank you God for the Blessings and the Love.
Photo by Antonio DiCaterina on Unsplash
The Road Home 