Blessings of Being Homeless

“Where do you live?”
It’s a familiar question, and one we often answer by saying, “We’re homeless right now.”  We usually go onto explain that getting rid of house payments and home maintenance expenses  allowed us to go fulltime into deputation.  However, we are very aware that deputation would be much harder for us if we were actually living out of our car, so we’re not really homeless.  We are simply depending upon the generosity of God’s people to carry us through this time.

For the past six months, we have used my parents’ home in Georgia as our base, so our answer then was, “Right now we’re living with my parents in LaFayette.”  While we were there, we made some connections with churches in the North Georgia area and got to know some of the people my parents know.  From there, we made two trips to South Carolina, one to Florida, one to Mississippi, one to Alabama, and one to Connecticut.  (I know.  That was a bit far.)  In all of these places, we were dependent upon the generosity of friends, relatives, or churches to give us a place to stay so that we wouldn’t have to sleep in the car. 
Today, in my private devotions, I realized something.  We have been blessed by not owning a home right now. I know that I would like to settle back into a house or condo one day, but right now God has given me a real sense of peace and contentment about our current situation.  I do not take that blessing lightly.
So let me enumerate some of the blessings I see in being homeless.

1. We do not have a house payment or electric or water bills.
2. We do not have to worry about maintenance or break-ins while we’re gone. 
3. No one has to be hired to cut the grass, mow the lawn, or check our furnace.
4. We are connecting with many of my far-flung family. Right now, we are staying with my brother and his wife in Louisiana. I hadn’t seen them since Christmas, and I had never visited them here. On this long trip we will also see my brother in the Chicago area and another brother in Minneapolis.
5. We are getting to see some people I haven’t seen in years.  On Wednesday and Thursday, we will be staying with one of my roommates from high school.  I haven’t seen her since I left Venezuela 42 years ago.  I’m so excited!  Then we will be visiting the place where Charlie worked with the Apaches, and then another former co-worker in Arizona. Then in a couple weeks, we’ll be staying with a college friend.  I haven’t seen her in over ten years.  We also hope to pass through Spencer, IA, where my dad pastored for a number of years and touch base with friends there.  I could go on because the list of people we hope to see is getting longer as the days go by.  What sweet reunions!
6. “Window shopping” poses no hazards to our bank account.  It’s simply an appreciation of the beautiful and/or efficient things that are available.  I can enjoy them with my eyes without feeling any need to own them.
7. I get to see the many ways that women turn a house into a home for their families.  I love the personalized decorating that I see that reflects a family’s personality and life.
8. I learn new ways to be more effective in my own life and ministry.  Sometimes that’s in watching a busy family manage all the needs of the individuals.  Sometimes it’s by paying attention to a new organizational or management technique that will help me.  Sometimes it’s just by listening to our host pray.

The Son of Man had no place to lay his head.  He has not asked us to sleep outside on the hard ground.  We have not even had to make do with our car, so I’m sure we are much better off than He was.  But we are learning what it means to be homeless in a ministry kind of way, and that’s a good thing.