A God Who’s Full of Surprises: Part 1 – Life with Bettie

Let me give you a little background of the past three months. Long story short, I had to move from my beautiful little nest. After two months of unsuccessfully looking for a place to live I decided to once again turn to the mercy of others generosity. Within the first 10 days of April I moved five times, shuffling my belongings from one home to another as I struggled to figure out what exactly I was supposed to do. Nothing made sense. I had found the perfect home, in one of the best locations and the rent was unbeatable. Why would God let this happen?

On top of that, why wasn’t God providing what I needed? He knows I hate being a “burden” to others and I like being able to take care of myself. Why was he putting me in a place where I had to rely on others? I thought we had moved past this. After attempting, for many weeks, to force a solution I finally gave up and agreed to move in with a woman who volunteers at Water Missions on Tuesdays. She is a Hanahan: one of the old original Charleston families.

And so begins the story of Life With Bettie.

Bettie is fantastic, in more ways than one. She has short hair, big glasses and a strong southern accent that only strengthens when she tells stories from her childhood. She is a firecracker and more adventurous than I am! She does what she wants, when she wants, says what she wants and doesn’t give a hoot as to what others think. And she does it with such flare! And her life is colored deeply by the grace and touch of Christ.

She has more stories than Shakespeare and some of my favorite nights have been when we eat dinner together and I just listen for a couple of hours to the history of this amazing woman. Such wisdom and insight from someone who’s lived a long and adventurous life. Did I mention she lives right on Water Front Park? Google it.

Anyways, she has been generous enough to let me live in the second bedroom of her two bedroom flat, rent free. What I originally was hesitant about has turned out to be the biggest blessing of my time here (you’ll find out why soon). She has blessed me in more ways than one and I will forever remember my time with her as one of the sweetest times in my life. If you’re ever in Charleston you should look her up and stop by for some coffee and ginger snaps (her favorite)!

In a funny way, Bettie has been the unexpected answer to my many prayers. But I’m going to stop the story here. There’s more to tell, but all in due time. Besides, it’s kinda fun to leave you guessing!

To be continued… Keep your eyes peeled for Part 2 – The Perfect Picture, coming soon with an exciting new update!!