2017: The Year I Was Intentionally Homeless... Well, For Awhile

This has been a year of adventure. I don't mean a year filled with adventures, though, arguably, I've been away from home enough times for one to make that case. But, I'm actually referring to the fact that I've spent 6 months of this year intentionally homeless.

It started as a bit of a whim: my lease would expire on March 31 and I'd be leaving for 3 weeks in Kenya about 10 days later... it seemed crazy to sign another lease and pay a ridiculous amount of rent for my house to sit empty, so I would spend 10 days at my mom's and then, when I returned, I'd stay with my dad for a bit until I found a new home. I moved a bunch of stuff to my dad's and put my furniture in storage and set off for Kenya.

As I flew home from Kenya, I very clearly heard God say, "I will have the right home, at the right time, at the right price, in the right place. Just trust me."

I sort of assumed that meant I'd be signing a lease in or around June or July.

But then, things got interesting. There were house-sitting offers and babysitting offers that meant I could move from place to place until it was time for our Student Leadership Conferences in the summertime. (Plus, had some amazing friends that let me stay in their guest bedroom in-between these commitments.) So, again, why pay rent for a room that would sit empty?

I returned from our Student Leadership Conferences to more home/child/dog-sitting opportunities.

And then, I was able to move into my dad's for a bit--and sleep in my own bed and hang up clothes for the first time in months! And now, here we are in mid-September, looking ahead at an October filled with travel and kid-sitting... no leases in sight.

I've learned so much in these six months. So much about myself and so much about God.

I'm hoping to unpack some of these lessons here... you know, for posterity.