I’m moving tomorrow and leaving the apartment where I have stayed the longest since college. When it comes to moving and changing new places I’m not too much of a sentimental guy. We moved a lot when I was kid until I was about 10. 6 times in 8 years. The first time doesn’t count though because I was 2 or 3 when it happened but still you get used to moving at that rate.
When I graduated from college I moved back to Colorado from Chicago. Ten weeks later I moved back to Chicago to take my first real job at a church. I crammed all of my stuff into my 2002 Subaru Outback and drove the 1,000 miles back to Chicago. No trailer, no rooftop luggage rack needed. All my stuff fit inside my car. Can you say college kid?
I lived in the parsonage at the church for ten months. It was drafty and clapboard with wiring that was a crapshoot at times but it more than met my needs and was a blessing to me.
The church sold the parsonage so I moved to an apartment in northwest Indiana. It was probably the sketchiest building I’ve ever lived in. It was 14 months of loud neighbors, domestic violence in the hallways, sharing Christ with single moms chain-smoking out front, and trying to figure out what made these people tick. It was probably the greatest blessing for me in ministry as it breathed a new perspective into my outlook on ministry.
Then came the call to come back to Colorado. I left a great job with a great future to follow what I feel was the clearest call of God on my life. He grew in me a heart to reach out to Denver and led me back to Colorado without a job offer or any idea of what was ahead of me. I felt like Abraham being called to a new place without any guarantee of what was to come.
I’ve been back in Denver for two years now and I feel so fulfilled with where God has me. This apartment has been more than just a place to live and a spot to crash at night. It’s the start to my journey of being called to Denver. I know that God has some incredible things in store for me and I’m excited to see what’s next. Turn the page, next chapter.