on the evening i moved out, i had two good friends (thanks Walter and Deb!) help me move stuff out and pack up my stuff. since my parents didn't really need my food and most of the stuff wasn't originally mine anyways, a lot of it was given away. some my friends took and some went to the schools' food pantry, clothing bank and other odds and ends. As the school closed by 10 getting that stuff out was the first priority. around 11, we started figuring out how to get rid of the furniture. as i was walking out to the garbage area with a chair (we didn't know where else to put it and figured people could scavenge there if they wanted to), i bumped into my neighbour helping another Korean couple into the apartment next door. the couple were bringing in huge suitcases - and as i glanced into the apartment, i saw it was empty. so i asked if they wanted my furniture. and so we moved my two couches, a table, some chairs, and some lamps. and i told them about the dishes and microwave we'd put in the food pantry. and i was delighted by God's timing - only God could turn my moving at a late hour into an opportunity to show hospitality - something that i had received so often from so many people.
and later on, as i was doing a final cleaning of the kitchen, it occurred to me that this was a good reminder of the way God surprises us with his timing. and it was a good way to end my time in Grand Rapids. it was time to leave. but overall it had been good. sure, sometimes it was hard - i'd lived with 7 different people over the 5 years, i'd been hard up for money way too often, living in a foreign country is always a bit of a hassle, and good friends would move away every year. but each year i had kept a few friends and made more. and this time it was me who was moving away from friends. and as much i knew ahead of time that i would learn lots (that is, after all, what one does in school) and that i'd make new (and good) friends, the extent of it still surprised me. i wasn't expecting to realize that as much as i love academics and talking about school stuff, i love the ordinary conversations that have nothing to do with school - and i love being from my very non-academic, practical, and caring family. and i wasn't expecting how much i enjoyed spending time with staff and faculty. and i wasn't expecting the different people that i'd become friends with - and how the friendships just got better with time (it helps that when you all work for the CRC, you keep bumping into old friends) - even the ones that i didn't make until the last couple of years. and i wasn't expecting to be able to minister so much to others - from tutoring to mentoring to teaching to just helping out wherever i could (the best part is getting to watch how people grow in Christ - and getting to see them flourish).
i'm thankful that God surprised me - and made it better than i expected.
i expect that these next couple years will also be full of God's unexpected surprises. and i look forward to them.
in fact, i've already bumped into a couple of surprises. a number of people i've talked to have heard of where i'm going to live. and a couple from my church are on my flight from Toronto to Amsterdam. i can't help but feel that God's taking care of me.
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