Two years ago on January 29, 2011, I came home from a Saturday of work to find that my roommate had left me a note telling me she had decided to move out. Granted, I hadn't really done my research on the girl. I found her on Craigslist and she only needed to live with me for 2 months, January and February. In my mind, it was perfect. I had this "master plan" to get my life back in order during those two months. Because of course, what had taken years to do, I thought I could undo in two months. Long story short, I was broke. Flat broke. I didn't have money to do anything. I wouldn't run my heat because I knew I didn't have money to pay it. So by having a roommate for two months, I thought I could 'get ahead.' What was I thinking??
Anyway, so after panicking for about two hours, because I had no clue what I was going to do, I texted my dear friend and coworker, Kate. After talking we came up with a solution. We would pack up everything, put it all in storage, and move in with someone until I could get things back on track, for real this time. While this was a great plan, I was still freaking out. I was having to give up my apartment. I had lived on my own and worked so hard for that place. It was my place. My table. My couch. My television. Mine.
My friends William and Alicia had so graciously offered to let me live with them temporarily until I found a long term solution. So it was final. I was moving out. And the timing of the situation was a God thing. I say that because my roommate moved out on Saturday and I was supposed to sign a new lease on Monday, committing me to another year.
So the packing began. A two bedroom, two story townhouse, that I had lived in for almost three years was going to be packed up. We had a little less than 60 hours from the time we started to packing until I had to be out. It was insane. Luckily, Kate and her husband, Nigel came to help me pack. As we were packing we didn't care too much about anything, because it was going in storage and in my mind, I would unpack it all in a month or two. So we packed, and packed, and packed some more. By Sunday night, we had majority of the house packed. Kate was so great and worked for me on Monday because at that point, I didn't have a storage unit to put everything in because they were all closed on the weekend. So Monday morning, with $80 left to my name, I got a storage unit. I remember filling out the paper work to get a unit and it asked for my address. I may have broken down a bit while I was in the office because I had no clue where to send it to. I called the church right away and asked if I could have it sent there since I knew that could be a constant.
Then came the fun part. Loading everything in the storage unit. Because I didn't have much money, I had to get one of the smaller units and hoped it would all fit. I began taking loads over to the unit around 1pm in my car, getting the things I could because everyone was at work. As people got off work, they came and helped. Did I mention the weather?? Monday morning a huge front was moving in, expecting to drop a ton of snow, so time was important. We were rushing around to get it into storage before the storm hit. The last load was a washer and dryer. We got them to the storage unit and they would not fit. Luckily, Pastor Jordan took them off my hands so I wouldn't have to toss them.
So here it is... my storage unit. You can't tell too much, but it was packed all the way to the top. Brandon was on top of the stuff, putting more stuff on top. Crazy...
It's weird to look at that picture because that weekend was a whirlwind. It all happened so fast.
The next few days were rough for me. That night, I got sick, from the stress and emotions. It was hard because I was no longer 'on my own' but I was now dependent on other people to let me live with them.
God will teach you lessons, in his own ways. Looking back, I could have used many other experiences to learn that lesson, but I don't learn well the first time.
If I am completely honest, I am glad the way it turned out. Don't get me wrong it has been a bumpy, bumpy ride full of tears and heartache, but God hasn't left me and he is still teaching me lessons.
This coming Easter, I will have lived with Kate and Nigel for two years. I doesn't seem like it's been that long at all. They are TRULY a God send for me. I value them in my life so much. They have been such a great support to me. And I am thankful to them for letting me be apart of their family. They are challenging me and loving on me. And God knew that I needed that after living in a dark place, emotionally, for so long. Yay for family! :)
