Living Acts: thinking about nutshells

I spent my last night in the Living Acts house last night and I've come to the conclusion that moving is a sad thing. I spent some days thinking of this place as "Holmes County" or "where I grew up," but as reflections swim about in my head with the moving of boxes and emptying of drawers, I'm realizing that this place was a thing of its own. It doesn't fit any category I have ever had before.
This was 344 E Jackson.
This was Living Acts. So many times we struggled to know what that meant but I'm realizing now that it's very simple.
Living Acts was Melissa, Drew, Zach, Kevin, Rachel, Zack, Annie and I loving each other and loving God.

It is so strange to see this house as it so rarely was: empty. There were always people here. The "norm" of who was here transitioned like seasons. Sometimes we had a house full of artists chatting over tea. Sometimes it was Emily and Tasha joining us in our exuberant dreaming. Sometimes it was Scott and Renee and Mrs. Julia Gulia here to share some kind of deliciousness or Susan with her questions. I love her questions. (Questions might be my favorite thing ever...) Sometimes it was Megan stopping by during her own year of intentional drifting, and on one occasion it was a stranger welcomed in for a warm place to stay.

And God became real to me in new ways during my Millersburg year and a half. My faith became less contingent (on anything or anyone else) and I learned the value of discipline.

Not to mention, I have never had to be so frugal before in my life. Thanks to giving neighbors at MMC and thanks to the spring doing away with a need to heat this house, the financial trapeze got easier and easier to balance. We don't even need to buy discount groceries anymore.

I can't believe everything that's happened in my own life or the lives of the other housemates since moving here: the personal things. We have each experienced such impacting things here. Those are the things that make me most sentimental now: these things we got to witness, encourage, and engage in each others' lives: things that are too personal to blog about, but almost too important not to share. There is this side-effect of living with something that amazes me. It is an inevitable impact you get to have on someone's daily life, and they get to have on yours. This last thing may be my favorite part of community living and perhaps the part of Living Acts that has effected me the most.

I'm so honored for the lives I got to be a part of while here.

I miss our crew. I wish Melissa and Kevin were just a floor away.