Skip to main content

...of an unexpected new chapter

Just a week ago, we got some news that completely changed our life. It lead us to believe that God has closed the door to our home on the other side of the world. 

The details are unimportant for the purposes of this blog. But I'll just say that we have been praying for clarity regarding this decision for four months now and planned as far as we could see and felt peace about. The Lord chose, in His sovereignty, to fill the last few weeks and even days with clear direction away from that home and back to our former one in Austin. We feel like we are on a roller coaster, but with the sure and trustworthy safety harness of the goodness of our heavenly Father holding us tight, we are able to enjoy the ride in some way. 

But at the moment, we are mostly grieving. I think that most of our friends and family believe this is the right direction and feel confident that the Lord has been in all of it, but the appreciation for what we are leaving behind is something it feels like we are walking through alone. That place is our home. The things in our house are just things and can be replaced or shipped, but the friends are unique and special. I am beyond grateful for facebook, which will allow me to stay in touch with some of the most amazing people I have ever met and may never see face to face again. I will get to see their children grow or see them get married and hear about their daily life, but it breaks my heart that I won't be a part of it. Of course, we have so many wonderful friends in Austin whom we said good bye to three years ago, but having to go through this process so suddenly with our friends in Fujairah and from a distance is gut-wrenching.

I wish that I could teleport back just to give everyone hugs. To tell them face to face that they have meant so much to us. To assure them that we will never forget their love and their friendship. But I can't. And I have to trust that God is working everything together for our good. He has taken us on a journey that has included many surprises and trials to make our path straight. Straight to Him. And every trial that we face, every good bye we say, every difficult decision we have to make is bringing about our perseverance, proven character, and hope in Him that will never disappoint us (Rom 5:4).

It all reminds me of the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3. God wanted them to trust Him all the way into the burning furnace and then He protected them from the fire inside. God wanted us to obey Him and trust him all the way up until literally almost stepping foot on the airplane. Then He protected us from what would have been a very difficult return through Abram's pretty inexplicable strep throat (even though he was on antibiotics). And now we are meant to trust him and obey Him as far as we can see in the other direction - and we can't see very far. 

We know that we are going to be back in Austin, but as far as jobs, housing, cars, etc. we have no idea. But God does. And I was reminded by a dear friend the other day that God loves to take care of the little things and tidy up loose ends. He definitely can and we trust that He will.

There are so many things that I am grateful to have in America at the moment - namely access to certain kinds of medical care and food for me to continue to manage my psoriatic arthritis. But there are a lot of things that I will definitely miss about the UAE. I will miss the sand dunes and the round abouts and the camels and the shawerma and the chai carak and the beautiful winters and the ocean. We are so grateful for the two plus years the Lord gave us there; the way it changed our lives, our perspectives, and our hearts is immeasurable. I think I am maybe the most sad that our kids might not remember it at all. They had such a loving  family of believers from all over the world surrounding them and I want them to remember it all. I hope the pictures and stories and blogs will help them to keep the experience in their hearts in some way. 

We honestly don't know what this next chapter will look like, but I am so grateful for the assurance I have that this life (where I live, what I own, my health, even my friends and family) are NOT what is lasting. The good news that I have been reconciled with my creator despite my inherent sin through His grace alone and nothing I could ever or will ever do and I can be certain that I will be with Him in eternity when this earthly life ends is what matters and what is lasting. Any place any of us live could be destroyed by an earthquake or tsunami or our own life could drastically change and we might never be able to return to that home. In those moments (and in every moment) we have to remember that the things of this world are finite, but our God and His kingdom are eternal and as believers we can look forward to His city, because ultimately this world is not my home. 

In conclusion, I'll leave you with a picture of my incredibly wonderful husband and I on a date tonight for our 7th anniversary (a few days early). This man has been the most amazing partner and spiritual leader I could ever have even thought to ask for. He encourages me and our sweet kids every day to seek and love Jesus more. He is so bold and joyful about the gospel that its infectious. Throughout this last week (as well as the 7 years before that), he has been my anchor, my calmer, my guide, my shoulder to cry on, and my very best friend. I am beyond blessed. 

And he's pretty handsome, if I do say so myself :)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

... of the tipping point

 I haven't blogged in so very long, I can't remember when and I'm not going to stop this thought train to go and check. Suffice it to say, it's been awhile. But I showed up here to share (and document) a major event in the life of our family.  Before Moses came home, I would see adoptive families posting about their kiddos' "Tipping Point Days". I recently heard it called something else as well, but I'm too tired to think of it right now. Basically, it is the day when your adopted child has been with you for as long as they were not  with you. For kids that were adopted at 1 or 2 or 3, that seems to come quickly and maybe feels eventful, but not monumental. Well, when we got custody of Moses he was about 4 years and 9 months old. I remember coming back to America and seeing someone in my adoption group post about their 2 or 3 year old's Tipping Point Day and thinking I should figure out when Moses's would be. So I did. I sat down and figured ou
Post a Comment
Read more

... of a patent

... or maybe, just maybe , I'm jumping the gun :) A good friend told me the other day that she and her husband have been leaving church after the worship because she can't sit for an extended time in the folding chairs. Our church did a great thing and bought inexpensive folding chairs for our sanctuary in order to 1)save money and 2)be able to use the empty room for community type events in the neighborhood during the week. This is awesome. I support their decision and so does my friend who is leaving after the worship (and watching the previous week's sermon from home). But she is pregnant. She already had back problems and now (of course!) they are worse. My back is just starting to bother me and I know that there are many pregnant women with back problems and normal people with back problems who whimper inside a little every time they enter a room and see folding chairs. Until now, I had just sort of reconciled myself to the fact that sitting in a folding chair was
6 comments
Read more

...of my ER defense

Many of you may have been reading the updates about Abram's "condition" on Facebook. As I contemplated putting up the information about what was going on for all the world to see, I have to confess that I was thinking that everyone was going to think I was crazy. "Her kid can't stand up for a day and all of a sudden she's going to the emergency room right at bedtime?" Well, I'm here to justify myself (although I realize there really isn't a need for that, based on the amount of wonderful support I got from people) and tell you a little bit of what I learned - for those of you who might be interested in some medical knowledge you may not have known. Just so you know, I did not take pictures of this event, so there are none here to see. Pictorial documentation of your child's first ER visit isn't something you think of until after you leave with the assurance that everything is probably going to be ok. Looking back, there was a lot of
Post a Comment
Read more