I
still kept in touch with the ladies at the women's shelter. They were nice, friendly
people. The social worker approached me the next time I dropped in for a chat and asked me
if I was interested in looking at a house they had for rent nearby. This was totally
unexpected - except for the fact that God had spoken! I didn't think I was even
entitled to help with housing as I was no longer a resident, but they were offering it so
I agreed to take a look.
As I drove there I
had an excitement inside - this must be what God was speaking about. Then I cautioned
myself and made a mental note not to rush into anything. As I drove down the road looking
for the house number I saw a street called Grace Street, and it occurred to me that this
house would be a gift of God's grace if it was the right one for me. Just then I saw
the house number I was looking for - the house was on the corner of Grace Street.
I would not take
that as a 'sign'! I was continually guarding my heart against looking for 'signs' from God
as guidance - I knew how misleading and confusing that can be. The house seemed
almost perfect for us nonetheless, so I signed up to move in as soon as possible.
One minor hitch
was the lease I had on my current unit, but during prayer I had the idea my sister might
be interested in taking it over, which is what happened.
I had a few weeks
to pack, so with my limited energy I slowly began to gather things together in boxes.
Increasingly I had the feeling that somehow it was all too hard. The past two years
had seen me shift three times and the strain was catching up with me.
One day I
developed a sudden pain in my side. I thought it was a minor thing, but later that day I
fell to the ground and was unable to get up. My seven year old daughter called some
friends and they came to our rescue. Eventually the pain eased, but the next day the
same thing happened.
This time I was
taken to hospital with suspected kidney stones, but it turned out to be a muscle
spasm. It was hard to believe that a muscle spasm could be so bad, but it was, and
required total rest. No more packing for me for a while.
Time was ticking
away. Then, just as I started packing again with days to spare, I came down with a gastric
influenza, and so did the girls!
This is where the
verses from Psalm 18:16-17 come in...
"He reached
down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me
from my powerful enemy, from my foes who were too strong for me."
Remember these
were the preceding verses to :
"He brought
me into a spacious place..."
I neglected to
tell you that when I saw the house I was to move into, one of the first things I noticed
was how huge the rooms were! Many people commented on it when they saw it, too!
How was I ever
going to move in to this house on time... if ever. I had been living under enormous
stress for ten years, and the past 24 months had been exceptionally traumatic. My
body was grinding to a halt. So my faithful God stepped in and took matters out of
my hands.
I was an
occasional visitor to a church homegroup. The leaders heard of my plight and
arranged for about 15 people to come over with trailers and move us - the men carried the
furniture while the women swarmed over the place like ants and packed everything they
could find into boxes.
It took me a whole
year to fully unpack, but that day they set up the kitchen and bedrooms so we could
live. Someone bought a meal, but we couldn't eat it because we were still too sick
with gastro! I couldn't even supervise the positioning of furniture properly because
I was so sick, but it all worked out fine. They even brought my prize potplant over
in one piece - but informed me that I was growing a thistle! I thought it
was a bit tall for whatever it was supposed to be?!!
The miracle of
Grace Street didn't stop here. There was more to come.
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