Ebenezer #4: More Roommates

I've mentioned that, during the summer of 2004, I interned in New York. That was an important summer for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that it showed me that I really did like living in New York, not just visiting and going to monuments and plays. Plus, I discovered my favorite New York restaurant Bianca, which was 20 yards away from our NYU dorm, and I figured out how to read a subway map.

Toward the beginning of the summer, my high school friend Carrie called me to say that she was in town for the weekend. She was staying with her college roommate Keri Anne, and she invited me and Cal out to Serendipity to have dessert with them.

Keri Anne was a summer intern in New York just like Cal and me, and the three of us spent almost every waking moment of the rest of the summer together. We got to be good friends, but, as often happens, once we went back to Auburn and Georgia, respectively, we lost touch a bit.

On September 4, 2007, I got a Facebook message frok Keri Anne. It read:

how are you? i miss you and that amazing city you live in. well, i was writing you (and i think i'll shoot one to cal too) about my friend who just moved there. Her name is Hannah Flora. She is amazing! I'm not positive of where she is living, but i know she was eager to meet people when i told her about you guys. She is on facebook, but if you want to call her, i know she'd love that. Her number is 334-xxx-xxx. She said she came to gallery church one week. can't wait to hear how you are doing! have a great week.

Always eager to make a new friend, I Facebook messaged Hannah:

Hi Hannah! I am a friend of Keri Anne Davis', and she told me that you just moved to NYC! Keri Anne and I became friends the summer we both interned here, and I moved back about a year ago. How are you liking the city? What are you doing, and where are you living? I'd love to meet and hang out some time. Also, I go to a church called Gallery Church. We meet Sunday nights in Chelsea. Let me know if you'd like to join any time! Have a great day! :) jamie

Hannah promptly responded:

Hi Jamie!

So great to hear from you! I did just move to the city and I am friends with cute Keri Anne! I am loving the city, slowly but surely adjusting. I would love to grab dinner or someething! My roomate and I are wanting to get plugged in asap! Let me know if there is a time that is good for you!

Look forward to hearing back! Hope you had a great day!!
Hannah

And a friendship was born. Hannah and I, along with her roommate Shelby and my friend Jay, had a blind friend date at Beyoglu. We got to be friends over the course of the next few months, and eventually, over many cups of coffee at Starbucks, Hannah and I decided to live together.

Hannah knew of a friend of a friend, Emily, who was looking for roommates, so we invited her to join. We thought that 4 might be a better number than 3, though, so we set out to find another roommate. One night, after some unsuccessful apartment hunting on the Upper East Side, I randomly ran into a then acquaintance from Gallery Church, Lindsay Ann. She asked what I was up to, and I told her, "Just looking for a new apartment. Interested in moving in with us?"

And you know what?

She was.

Although Leslie was THE perfect roommate for my first two years in New York, Hannah, Emily and Lindsay Ann were so clearly exactly who God wanted me to live with for the last year and a half. He's blessed us with so many wonderful memories (including trips to DC and the beach, pictured above), and He also provided an unbelievable, spacious apartment that we LOVE for us to live in. Yet another testament to his goodness, faithfulness, and sovereignty, and to his great love that surprises and delights.