After 19 years, Chrysalis Women’s Transitional Living has made two big moves. I want to share with you the amazing way God prepared our path and our staff for the changes. Even though we can’t see the future, God can. His ways are not our ways. My faith has been built as we journeyed step by step into the unknown.
The upheaval started last December when we were told that our office building had been sold and we were to vacate by the end of January. I immediately began searching for a new office. This was not an easy assignment because I hoped to find one that included a large room where we could hold meetings and classes for the women in our programs. The State Street house where we held classes was too small, but we loved our home and managed to make it work. Yet, moving out of our office was difficult. We were next door to the State Street house, our main Chrysalis home where our new residents lived. They were able to walk across the street to attend their first-month day program, Portraits of Change.
Our office was easy to access for the women in our other homes as well. We could not understand why God was leading us in a new direction, but we were reminded, “For those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purposes.” (Rom 8:28). After a two-week search, I had to give up the large-room idea, but I found an office close to our State Street location. We moved into our new offices at the end of January and we were all surprised to discover we loved our new space even more than the former. The conversation around the office was all about how we would have never moved if we hadn’t been pushed out. Sometimes God creates situations that cause us to change. We were so comfortable and happy where we were that moving never entered our minds. We couldn’t be more grateful for our beautiful new space.
About the same time, near the end of December, we received a new lease from the owner of our main house on State Street. The lease was filled with terms that would affect the privacy of our residents. After many months of trying to work out a solution, we decided to leave the home we started Chrysalis in nineteen years ago. This second move was even harder for our staff and residents to understand than moving the office. What was God doing?
We packed up the furnishings that filled the huge house, which is a four-plex with a basement and garage. Because we had nowhere to take the furniture, we placed everything in storage and kept looking for a new home for our ladies. We put in extra beds in our Mariposa home for some or our residents, and we found homes for the others to stay in during our transition. Our hearts were broken. We had experienced so much life within those walls where women’s lives had been healed and changed. We have so many wonderful memories.
On the day we finished packing and cleaning, I stood looking out the front window, remembering when we landscaped the front yard and all the events that were held there. I looked around the house, my mind filled with all the women who’d found a safe place to begin new lives. I saw the fun socials, events and classes held in the room I was standing in. I heard laughter and saw tears of joy and sorrow. I heard the many stories told of family reunifications, job promotions and newfound relationships with God.
The State Street home changed my life when I was given the gift of starting Chrysalis there and I was able to fulfill the dream God put in my heart. I had so many memories of bringing women though those doors into a new life. But as much as I loved our home, I understood it was just a building, and I said goodbye. We would take our memories, our residents and staff, our volunteers and donors with us. We’re all part of this incredible life-changing organization called Chrysalis. I had no idea where we were going, but I knew God would lead the way. Psalms 56:3 reads, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.”
Our offices are now located at one end of a large building. We often wondered what was behind the doors that divided our space from the rest of the building. The day came when we were able to tour the other side. When we reached the basement, which is next to our offices, I was absolutely overwhelmed by the size of the room. This was exactly the room my heart was longing for, the one I’d been searching for all along.
We’d been in the building for months, yet didn’t know the big room was there the whole time. But God knew, and the space came available right when we needed it. We had just moved out of the home where we held our classes and the next week we had classes in our new wonderful room we call “The Gathering Place.” God is always right on time. Not always in our time, but in His.
As I am writing this blog of walking into the unknown, we are about to move the displaced State Street residents into a new home that had been a transitional home for many years. The owners are repainting the entire house and replacing flooring and carpets. It is a fresh and wonderful environment with a yard we can hold our events in. Eight women and a house assistant will soon reside in our new home.
God has been working on our behalf in so many ways over the last six months. Looking back at where we were, we are so grateful God took us on this unknown, unplanned journey. I hope by reading this blog you will have a better understanding of God’s plan for your life. It’s like a tapestry. We can only see the side filled with knots and loose ends. We can’t see the beautiful picture on the other side. But that’s what God sees. We have to trust his plan is so much better than anything we can imagine. I have said many times over the last few months I feel like I’m walking on water blindfolded. That’s exactly what our lives look like if we give them to God.
This is not the end of our story. I don’t know how it will end, but we’re looking into possibly purchasing the building that holds our offices and meeting room. It would be a perfect dorm for our new residents during the first three months of their program. They attend classes there already.
Whether this is our much-need building or not, as we continue to trust God with the unknown, he will direct our path. We are thrilled to be able to continue to meet the needs of women coming out of incarceration, addiction and homelessness. Our new doors are open to the next woman—and the next and the next—who ask for a chance for a new life. Daily, we walk into the unknown. I’m grateful for constant reminders that God is already there.
