impossible is nothing

our criteria for an ideal flat:
1) safe (enough so that teresa can walk home in the evening without being afraid)
2) inexpensive (or at least within the budget we had set)
3) central
4) close to transport links (tube mainly, but buses and trains too)
5) nice (aesthetically)
6) close to grocery store

ask any londoner whether such a place exists and they will tell you surely not. they will tell you that it simply isn't possible. well today, we may have found such a place.

it was a very short walk ('a stone's throw away') from where we are currently staying. it's not 100% safe, but then again, no place in london really is. but we'd give it a solid 90% rating. there's also a police station not too far down the street. it is a 5 minute walk to king's cross tube station, which is the hub for almost every line on the underground, the overland trains, and numerous bus routes. there's a tesco metro (one of the less expensive grocery stores) within a 5 minute walk as well.

there are two rooms available in the flat. one is a double bedroom and is quite large and spacious. the other is a single bedroom, but it's still large enough to fit a double bed, some dressers and a wardrobe. the larger room was very nice, but it ended up being more expensive than the budget we had set. but the individual showing us the flat was open to us taking the smaller room too, which was within budget.

now, it wasn't super nice. in fact, it wasn't even finished. the space used to be an office, which was then converted to a living space and inhabited by several students. the current tenant is in the process of overhauling the entire place. there is a fresh coat of paint on the walls and there are plans to re-carpet certain areas. it doesn't have a sofa in the lounge yet, but it's also in the plans (a sofa-bed, actually).

it's interesting the many ways God is helping us grow through this adventure. the place we saw today is yet another lesson. all of the other places we have visited have been finished and furnished. we could move in tomorrow and not have to change a thing. the place today wasn't finished yet. but even though there were buckets of paint and plaster lying around, dirty carpet that was going to be torn out and other half-finished parts of the flat, we could see the potential of the place to become a home.

it led us to an interesting analogy. we've been learning through a sermon series on marriage that marriage is all about the finishing process. no one's perfect, but the idea is that we can see the potential in each other and will work with God to create a finished person. in the same way, God sees the potential in us and works patiently to finish us, patching up certain areas and cleaning others.

the current tenant said that it was a miracle - literally - that he had found it in the first place. his church had asked him where he was going to stay and he had told them the king's cross area. and so that was the only place he had looked and he happened upon this flat. he knew it was a provision from God.

our initial thoughts are the same. it seems too good to be true. so good, in fact, that it could only possibly have come from God. our test now is to wait on Him so that we know this is what He wants and not our own selfish desires.

but one thing is for sure: although things may seem impossible for man - and our criteria was
pretty impossible - all things are possible with God.