We were living at our Bushwick Ave. apartment for three years before applying for housing. Although my wife had taken a photograph of a huge dead rat that had died in our one-and-only half bath, and our son had been playing with it, we believed God to be in control of everything; even the rat. Would you like to see the picture?? I’m dying to post it!!! Wife won’t let me 🙁 We referred to our bathroom as a half bath because one half was on one side of the kitchen holding the tub and vanity, and right across the room was a small closet housing the toilet…strange!
We were interested in new housing units being built near our place. At a meeting for new potential homeowners, we were told we ‘might’ get in to the system. We were also informed that there were at least a thousand families ahead of us. However, we knew God could work through that list & move us ahead. Immediately, faith kicked in: since I worked at a warehouse, I began taking home unwanted, empty boxes and began packing for our journey to the promised land. As we awaited our exodus, we continued our plight.
It was freezing in our unit! My next-door neighbor and best friend, Ray, thought it strange that we would call the heating hotline number to report the landlord. After all, we were Christians. I told him, “Then the landlord should be behaving like one.” Ray believed we needed to be good Christians and endure the pain, suffering, and the freezing. We didn’t share those beliefs. We really needed a ticket out of there. Part of that ticket would be God’s answer to prayer; the other part was on its way in the form of another child! Life goes on…another lesson in patience. Psalm 40:1 reads: “I waited patiently for the LORD (Yaweh); and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.” Amen!