Well, it's been a while since I last blogged. Lots has happened in a short amount of time, I suppose. I'll start with the biggest piece of Matt Mitchell news...
I've been wanting to move out for a while and started pursuing different options to see what I could do. A member of my family offered to give me first and last months' rent, which totally enabled me to move, so I just needed to find roommate(s) and a place that I could afford. It wasn't looking all that great, to be honest. I was looking in the Bloor West/High Park/Roncesvalles area and wasn't having much luck in finding something affordable that worked for me and the potential roomies. A friend of mine recommended another friend of mine (the awesome James Sangster) to me who was looking to move out at the same time. I contacted James and we saw a couple places, neither of which really had us. We decided to let them drop and not apply for them, believing God had better for us. Then we found a great place across from High Park for a deal we couldn't pass up. We loved it upon seeing it and decided to apply. All in all, we were signed and locked in in four days!
God is so good. He totally got a deal for me and James that worked for the both of us financially and otherwise. I'm so incredibly blessed and thankful to be living where I am, in this amazing apartment with an awesome man of God for a roommate. I love the neighbourhood. It has tonnes of great pubs, restaurants, coffee/tea shops, bakeries, fruit markets, and other great stuff. A lot of my friends are also in the area, and I love living near them and being a part of a community with them- a part of a community I want to build and grow and expand. I look forward to the next year or more living here and will certainly have lots more to blog about over that time. I'm looking forward to meeting my neighbours and telling them about what I do and who I am and about how awesome Jesus is. I'm looking forward to learning to cook new things for myself and organize my life and finances further. I'm looking forward to growing in relationship with James as a roommate and friend. I'm looking forward to having people over and learning about being a good host. I'm looking forward to using this place as a medium make people feel welcome and loved. I'm looking forward to the ways that God is going to stretch and grow me as a person providing for himself. I'm looking forward to experiencing a whole new stage of life, basically, and God is totally awesome in helping me through all this.
Speaking of new life stages, with the sudden change in weather, I'm reminded of how everything is different from one season to another. It's much like this with life (Mark and Beth Hardy preached an AWESOME last message on this kind of thing at TACF North York on Sunday). It's so very different living away from home than it was with my family. It feels amazing. I'm so thankful to God for this change of season in my life, because He's doing amazing things in my heart and is totally showing me his goodness in this season and I feel happier than I have in a long time. Through this and other things he's done and is doing, He's really done a lot in my heart. He's really put to rest a lot of my fear and doubt and frustration and anger and sadness. He's really showed me that he does still love me and want to help me out. And He's put a new spark of love in my heart.
Sure, it's tighter financially. Moving costs money and I don't have as much pocket money as I used to, but God is teaching me wisdom with my money, and I'm doing my part to walk that wisdom out. Part of this move is based in faith, so I'm really excited to see how God opens doors and shows me his providence and favour as I've stepped into a new time in my life that he's called me to.
People keep asking me how I'm doing, and I just can't help but answer, "Excellent! Really excellent!"
Thank you so much Jesus for the shower of blessings you've poured on me!
And thanks to all of you who were praying for me when I was looking for a place and calling out to God to come and show me his goodness and move in a big way in my life. He's definitely come through with more than I could've asked for.
Anyway, I'm off for now.
Cheers!
Matt
