Saved from eviction

If you have been following my blog for a while, you will know how much I love hearing from my newsletter subscribers*, when they have a ‘light through the cracks’ story to share with me.

(If you didn’t know I have a monthly newsletter, just click on this link to subscribe – and you will be amongt the first to know all my news!)

A story that arrived, just recently, was from a lovely lady called Esther. “When I read your recent newsletter, I realised I have a ‘light through the cracks’ story of my own,” she told me.

So here it is, shared with her blessing.

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Esther and her young son are living in rented accommodation in a small market town. As a single mum, she sometimes struggles to make ends meet, but she provides for her son as best she can.

One evening, while visiting a married couple with a mutual friend, the wife unexpectedly turns to her and says, “Esther, you and your son are never going to be without a roof over your heads.”

Esther has never met her before, but she senses the Lord speaking through this stranger. She knows he is addressing one of her unspoken fears.

At the time, their landlord is proving to be somewhat unscrupulous, so the timing of God’s prophetic promise feels fortuitous.

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Some years later, Esther opens the front door to find a bailiff has come with an eviction order. Refusing to be kicked out of the house without anywhere else to live, she tries to get the eviction order overturned, later that day, in court.

Unsuccessful, and feeling dejected, she returns home, with her son, only to find that the locks have been changed.

“You’ve got ten minutes to clear your belongings,” the bailiff tells her, while he stands guard and watches her every move.

Esther is defiant. “Well, we’ll just have to sleep under the stars tonight,” she declares, turning to her son and squeezing his hand. Inside she is in turmoil.

Between them, they gather all that they can, carry it out to the car and pack it in, along with their three pet dogs.

“I only had a small car at the time,” Esther tells me, “so I knew it would be a tight squeeze.”

As Esther pulls away from the property that has been their home for so long, she recalls how some former neighbours were similarly evicted the previous year. In the time since, they have kept in touch as friends.

“If ever you find yourself homeless,” her friend had once remarked to Esther, “just come and find us, as I’m sure we’ll have room for you too.”

Recalling that offer, Esther drives over to her friend’s house and pulls up outside. Ringing the doorbell, her son standing nervously behind her, it’s her friend’s husband who answers the door.

“The Missus is away on holiday at the moment,” he says, as soon as Esther has explained the situation. “So you’d better both come in, make yourselves at home, and choose which bedrooms you’re going to sleep in.”

Esther feels overwhelmed by such generosity and kindness. These friends have no belief in Jesus, no shared faith. Yet God is choosing to use them to bless her and her son.

Over the next 48 hours, as Esther scours the property pages for available rental homes, she finds herself recalling the words the Lord had spoken to her all that time before.

“We didn’t have to spend a single night outside under the stars, without a roof over our heads,” she tells me. “Instead, we spent two nights under a slate roof, in a nice warm house, thanks to the hospitality of my friend’s kind husband.”

The following day, Esther and her son move into a new rental property, perfect for their needs, a couple of miles away.

“Every word of God proves true,” she says, as she reflects on all that happened to her at that time. “I just never expected to discover it under such circumstances.” 

***

As you think about Esther’s ‘light through the cracks’ story, I have two trains of thought for you:

Firstly, has the Lord ever spoken into your life about an unspoken fear, like he did with Esther, reassuring you that he is in control? If so, how difficult or easy has it been for you to hold onto what he said, and how have you seen his words outworked?

Secondly, have you ever been at the receiving end of unexpected generosity and kindness, like Esther was with her former neighbours? If you know what that feels like, and even if you don’t, who might God have put in your life, to whom you could extend such generosity and kindness?

 As ever, constructive comments are welcome below.

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*Please note: If you have read this blog post and, like Esther, you would like to subscribe to receive my monthly newsletter, you can sign up here.

Image from Planet Fox via Pixabay.