My living situation has been in a state of great flux lately.  I had moved to a new state three months ago and for two months was ensconced in a home that was perfectly fine and functional.  I had been bartering my rent for some eldercare.  However one week into my stay, that elder fell and had to be rehabilitated elsewhere.  After that event, things were up in the air for a while.  Would she recover enough to return to her home?  Would my services still be needed?  Would I have to move?  Would I have to find more work and start paying rent?  There were many unknowns and I and the elder’s niece were in a state of not-knowing for quite a while.

Eventually it became obvious the aunt would not be returning home and I was informed I would need to start paying rent.  Rather quickly, I found a wonderful roommate – a woman who would be moving to the area within the month.  But only two weeks later, things changed yet again.  The niece had informed me that now her mother had decided to move in – alone.  I would need to find another place to live.

Within a day or two, a new friend told me about a home that would be available.  Easy!  I was so happy that the Universe had responded so quickly to my need.  My future roommate was happy as well.  However that situation fell through within a week and once again, I needed to find us a home.

I happened upon another friend who told me she and her partner would be moving and would I be interested in their home.  I would!  It was a beautiful place, filled with light and space, beautiful amenities and outstanding views.  We were to move in June 1^st.  Now my roommate and I just had to find a place to stay in the interim because the niece needed to come and clear out the home to make way for her mother’s considerable belongings.

I tried, but could not find a short-term place for the both of us, so I lived for a time in the spare room of some friends and another place was found for my roommate, who had newly relocated from Costa Rica.

Then we find out that the big beautiful place would actually be available to us on May 21^st, would we be interested?  We would!  So we moved in on the 21^st and the next day I left for the trip back East to go to my niece’s wedding and visit with family.  Everything was settled, roommate was ensconced, perfect.

But not.  Because there were problems with the lease, which had not been forthcoming in spite of frequent pleas for us to see it and sign it.  In addition, the place was a freezer, impossible to keep warm.  And so while I was 2000 miles away, my roommate began a frantic search for another place for us to live.

It was a very small town and only three available places were listed in the classifieds.  One was rejected as too unappealing, another was too small, but the third place looked like it would be just fine.  We were relieved.  She left a message with the owners that we were interested only to find out two days later that other prospective tenants had been there prior to us and the owners had to make a decision.

Again we were in limbo and my roommate begins to falter in her faith and feel despair.  I suddenly remembered my friend, Ann, mentioning a possible place owned by a neighbor.  I called Ann.  She immediately became an ally and suggested there were several places that were generally advertised as being for short-term lease but when approached, the owners were often amenable to long-term leases as well.  She gave us a couple of numbers.  My roommate immediately called and arranged to look at these places.

In rapid succession, we now had several new places to consider.  Nothing is yet set in stone, but it does appear we will have a home when I return.

We went from having a place to not having a place, to having a place, to not having a place, about five times.  Except for that one night, my roommate showed remarkable faith in the face of incredible flux.  With every stumbling block that arose she rolled with the flow.  She did not blame me for not having things settled before her arrival.  She did not blame the Universe for failing to provide.  She had faith.  On the one night her faith faltered I said, I cannot believe we would both be called so strongly to move to this town only to be left homeless.  I said surely there was a place for us. 

How do we keep faith in the midst of so much flux?  I know my roommate and I are not the only ones negotiating massive amounts of change right now.  What are your coping tools?  Are you blessed with unshakable faith?  Or do you need to spend a lot of time in prayer and meditation?  Perhaps you need to soak in a hot tub or get a massage or immerse yourself in nature in order to find some ground beneath your feet again.

Whatever you can do to keep away the demons of fear, do it. 

I seem to have been blessed with a strong sense of faith that things will work for the good.  And thank goodness, because somehow it seems to me that the more faith I have, the better things work out.  Perhaps it’s because our thoughts have power.  If we expect good things to happen, they do.  And if we expect bad things to happen, they do.

Also, I believe in a loving God.  I believe in a Mother/Father God who cares about me.  And I trust that all will be well.

May it be well for you as well.

May you be blessed.  Even in the face of tumultuous change.