A Place on Hope

I accepted my new job at Whitman College on April 27.

By April 29, I was already feeling unravel-y.

It was because the rental homes the college provides for employees -- that I was just so sure I'd be able to get and would be sooo convenient for my job and my family -- weren't available.

I scanned the rental market in increasing desperation. Where are we going to live? Everywhere was so expensive -- triple what we pay now, no pets, huge deposits. What are we going to do?

Tuesday afternoon, I googled churches in Walla Walla. After finding one that looked like the sort of place that we would go, I emailed their front office, asking if anyone in the congregation happened to have a rental.

Wednesday morning, my phone rang.

"Hi, my name is Phil and I go to Life Church in Walla Walla..."

Phil had a place for rent. The current tenant was moving out this weekend, and did I want to come by and see? I asked him for the address.

"It's on Hope Street."

Because of course it is.

Isn't God always waiting for us on Hope Street? As we feel the walls closing in on our lives and our panic rising. As we see our plans slipping away and an unknown future coming in fast. There's God. Hanging out on Hope Street. Waiting for us to show up.

I spent Saturday afternoon with a friend and a realtor running around Walla Walla looking at homes to buy. Hope was our last stop.

But when we got to Hope Street and toured Phil's place, I was filled with calm and peace. "I'd like to take it," I told him before we were even done looking at everything. And it was done. He's happily getting it cleaned up and ready for us by when we need to move in. I would have given him any amount of money, but he only wanted the minimum amount.

"Yeah, we found out our tenant was moving out. And I almost sold the place last month," Phil said.
"We were going to list it, but I decided I wanted to keep it. My wife and I were praying about it .... and then I got your email from the church."

I was an answer to Phil's prayers, just like he was an answer to mine.

And so in three weeks we'll begin our new life on Hope Street.

I know God will meet us there.