Chapter Five: In which we experience seven miracles and everything falls into place.

Us feeling well and happy. Another miracle considering
the astounding stress of moving and everything else.

Miracle #1
While I may be epileptic, shortly after being diagnosed, I realized that because I was going to Harvard Divinity, I would be an epileptic with very good insurance through the school. I would also be in the center of mass intelligence and, I am sure, medical and neurological brilliance. I would also live in a place with consistent public transit so that I wouldn't be dependent on Spencer to drive me places till my six-month license suspension is up. We also don't have a gas stove anymore, so even though that doesn't exactly feel like a blessing, it is worth noting that I will more easily be able to keep the directive to not cook over an open flame. :) And, there is a pharmacy a 15-minute walk away, so my prescription won't be as much of a hassle. I believe that such circumstances are miraculous.

Miracle #2
We got an apartment! Yes, we did. :) Two weeks before we were to move out, I was on the Off-Campus Harvard Housing site and saw a new listing for an apartment in Belmont, Massachusetts.

The pros: It is about $400 to $600 under the average price we'd found thus far. It includes all the utilities, including WiFi and a washer and dryer. It can come furnished. It is only a 30-minute bus ride from Harvard Square on a consistent and frequent bus line. It is only a 15-minute walk from the library, town center, a post office, and a grocery store. The contract is 9-months long, so if we found we needed to move, we weren't locked into a long-term agreement. It is in the same city as the Boston Temple, which was a pleasant surprise. And it has a piano!

The cons: It is only 350 sq. feet, which is much much smaller than where we have previously lived. (Good thing we started de-junking.) It doesn't really have a kitchen. (Sad face.) Instead, it has what can be considered a kitchenette, which includes a half-fridge, a burner, a microwave, and a toaster oven. (Luckily we also have an electric skillet, a crock pot, and a few other helpful appliances, as well as a nearby grocery store since we'll be shopping more frequently with our minimal space.) The apartment has a sink, though not in a convenient place. And it is in a basement, so not as much natural light.

The miracle, though, was that the landlords were willing to work with us. They walked us through the apartment over Skype, performed credit checks and references with little hassle, mailed us the contract, and were very easy to work with on the whole. So with two weeks to spare, we had found an apartment! Yes, it would require less-comfortable living and some interesting sacrifices, but it also provided some tender mercies, like the piano and the temple, that we had not counted on. I'm mainly just glad that we're not going blind anymore.

Miracle #3
I got a job! Yes, I did. :) Around the same time we found the apartment, I was offered a phone interview with the Religions and the Practice of Peace initiative. They are a group on Harvard campus that conducts monthly colloquiums on strategies for sustaining peace. I would be a graduate assistant and would do whatever is required in facilitating these events from catering to publicizing. I'm simply relieved that I have a way to buffer our financial situation. *Phew.

Miracle #4
Spencer got a great price on a moving truck! Yes, he did. :) We had finally figured out a moving date: August 4th. So Spencer started looking up quotes for a moving truck. Within 12 hours every place he had looked up was calling trying to offer the best deal. But Penske won. They offered unlimited miles, with a 10-day limit (perfect for our 8-day trip plus a day to load and unload), they included the cost of insurance, and they gave us a few discounts that amounted to the venture being hundreds of dollars cheaper. So happy!

Miracle #5
We've sold almost all of our furniture! Now, this is a two-pronged miracle because when we moved into our complex three years ago, they were contracted as furnished apartments. But the complex had gradually shifted to unfurnished, so we received all the furniture for free. Well, with how small our apartment was going to be, along with the fact that it was already furnished, we decided to sell the furniture for whatever profit we could get. And most of it sold! That gave us a couple hundred dollars we hadn't counted on initially.

Miracle #6
We sold our car! It was two days before we left Provo, and we were stressed. We needed to sell our car since we needed the money to help complete our road trip and pay rent. It also wasn't economical to keep our car with the cost of insurance and tolls, especially since we already had a bike as well as ready access to consistent public transit. But we hadn't even gotten one call. We thought we might sell it to a dealership under its value, and then I got a voicemail. A friend of mine from my past study abroad had had her car break down for the final time at work that day. She had seen my post about our car on Facebook and was hoping to come to see it. Within a few hours, our car was sold. The timing was impeccable and astonishing.

Miracle #7

Me and Sarah

We were able to see nearly every friend and family member we'd hoped to see before we hit the road! We had multiple family reunions that were timed perfectly so we could go. And we had so many friends adjust their schedules and even travel to us just to show us some farewell-for-now love. Seeing one friend, in particular, was especially miraculous though. My best friend from high school is Sarah (Dodds) Chandler, and I wanted to see her so badly before moving away. But we just hadn't been able to make it work since she lives in another state. So I prayed and prayed and prayed that somehow she or I would find a way to get to the other. So five days before we leave, I get a text from her saying that she's in Utah!!! A series of last-minute circumstances had led to her being able to come down with her husband, and she could come by that afternoon!

Best afternoon ever. If that isn't a miraculously answered prayer then I don't know what is.

~~~

I could share many more miracles, least of all the generosity of our family and friends who helped us clean our apartment, provided food the morning of our move out, moved boxes, loved and supported us through this experience, and assisted us financially with medical bills, moving, and school in general. But I'll leave it there and say that when you walk by faith, things do eventually fall into place. God is always in our corner.