How St. Julien Helped Me Find My Perfect Home

Just over a year ago, my landlord told me I needed to vacate the beautiful bungalow that I had planned to spend many years in so that she could sell it for way over my price range. For the next few weeks, I wept everytime I walked into my beautiful bathroom, threw the ball to the dog in the yard, and sat at the kitchen island to eat my breakfast. This place had been perfect for me! Not only was the house super cute but I could walk to just about any place I wanted to go (including Trader Joe’s- no need for the crazy parking lot!). I could hop on the Sugar Creek Greenway with my bike in a matter of seconds and my commute to work was less than a 10 minute drive. To top it off, not only was I leaving a place I loved, but the housing market was crazy at that time! Even rental properties were scooped up site unseen. You had to be in the know, act fast, and be willing to lay your money down immediately. This scared me because I have always liked to feel a place out and be able to take a couple of days to process if it was the right situation for me.

Even though it felt like everything was being uprooted in my life at the time, I knew God’s hand was in it. I believed that God had prepared a better place for me for my next step in the journey. I would trust, the same way that I had with the bungalow. I did my due diligence checking Zillow multiple times of day, driving through neighborhoods, and asking around. I even got a real estate agent to show me both houses that I could buy and that I could rent. As I compared the two, I saw that I could live in much nicer areas renting than buying. But everyone else was figuring this out at the same time as me. I would reach out to landlords as soon as I saw a rental listed, but before they could show it to me, someone else had already signed a lease. Pressure mounted as my time was running out but I did not want to hastily put myself in a bad housing situation like I had lived in before. Worn down after a month of no results, my trust had waned and fear crept in, stealing my sleep.

My inner voice said, “Hold up, Julie. Don’t give into the fear and pressure…look at this as an opportunity to practice imagining what you truly desire and trusting it will come. Invisible forces are working toward your favor.” So I made my list of all the things I would love in my new home, and I held onto the image of the angels preparing a place for me, a place more perfect than I could even imagine.

Unremarkable at first, a small 1930’s brick house popped up in my parameters on Zillow. It’s age would mean issues, but if I had a good landlord it would be okay. Yet, what was the inside like? There weren’t many pictures posted online, and when I called, the landlord said it wouldn’t be available for viewing until the open house the next week. I knew that I would have to place an offer that night and right away if it was the place for me. This place was at the top edge of my budget so I could not afford to repair things on my own if the landlord wouldn’t. Was it a risk I was willing to take? I decided to take my dog on a walk in the neighborhood to see how it would feel to live there. As we walked, I admired the huge beautiful trees in the neighborhood, the hawks flying overhead, and then we came across a beautiful park! The neighborhood felt surprisingly quiet for being so close to the city, and I didn’t realize how much I needed that. I prayed for a sign to know if this was the right place for me. As we made the loop back to the house, I looked up at the street sign: St. Julien. I immediately googled St. Julien to see what he was the patron of and this is what it said:

Saint Julian was invoked as the patron of hospitality by travelers on a journey and far from home hoping to find safe lodging.

My eyes welled with tears as I knew this was the answer. This was to be my next stop on my journey.

Fast-forward to a month after living in my new home and I stumbled across the list that I had made of all the things I wanted in my perfect home. Even more walkable than my other home had been…now I could walk to a library, post office, and nail salon! My commute to work was now only 5 minutes and it was a 5 minute bike ride to the Sunday biking group that I used to have to drive to meet. And the park that I had seen on the first day actually turned out to be a nature preserve that only those in the neighborhood seem to know about. It is a tranquil escape only minutes from my door. Most of all, I feel so safe here! I didn’t even realize that the reason I hadn’t been sleeping well in my old house was because I constantly felt a little on edge. Here the neighborhood is a true community where people care about each other, kids play in the street, and people gather for food truck Thursdays. No more skunky air, men in the park yelling obscenities, and gunshots at night. This house checked all the boxes and I was still discovering new surprises each day. For example, some neighbors built a pickleball court for the whole community to share!

The angels had prepared the perfect place for me before I even knew what I needed. Let this be a reminder to you that they are doing the same for you.

About the Author: Julie Glaser is a healer who creates sacred spaces for others to share, release, and grow. She’s in the habit of being in awe and wonder and writes to share her own experiences with other inquisitive souls in the process of transforming.