So...I'm starting to think that God is teaching us consistently how to not love our possessions. I only say this because we have moved 6 times in our 7 years of marriage. So, about every year, we find ourselves moving to a brand new apartment or a brand new city or sometimes a brand new country. That's what happened about 3 weeks ago. I put our lives into 4 - 50 lb. bags, and for the 4th time in my life, I left one country for another. This time, we're going to Deerfield, IL to go to Trinity for Drew to get a PhD in Intercultural Studies. We're excited about this, but we also really weren't ready for the move in the first place.
We had planned to maybe do a few of Drew's classes during Januarys or Augusts when we would go back and visit family in the States. Drew could fly up to Chicago and take a few classes and Eva and I could see family during his classes. In March, Drew got a notice that he was offered a scholarship that would cover a decent amount of what he would have to spend for his degree. The kicker, we would need to return to the States for 2 years for him to fulfill his end of the scholarship of working in the Intercultural Studies office every week. So, we prayed. What in the world are you doing, God? We were fine here in China with the groups of teachers you've given us. What are you doing, now?
I'm still not 100% sure what God is doing, but I do know that He continues to show us that this is His will for now. I don't really know why, but thankfully, I don't have to know. God does, and that's good enough for me.
It does mean for us, that we currently have a couch turned sideways and a coffee table slanted in the living room waiting for me to clean them and the carpet that we bought a few days ago. But, I haven't had a vacuum cleaner, so I haven't done any of that yet. It also has meant that we have been floored by the outpouring of love from our friends in OKC and some Chinese people who have never met us before in North Chicago that have given freely of their funds or mattresses or desk chairs or silverware or time to watch our daughter.
Here we are, amazed by the overwhelming amount of things that people have provided for us. All the time they've been saying to us, "this is God's gift" or "this is God's good plan". I haven't really experienced God's plan in a matter of a week before to fill a house with the things that we would need. To say I'm surprised would probably be an understatement. I feel like, why would you decide to give these things to us, God? Shouldn't you spend your gifts on people more worthy of your favor? Then, I'm reminded that I can't earn anything from God. He chooses the times when we need Him to provide. He chooses what and how He provides and He also chooses the people who provide the things so that we may have a closer relationship with those people. I'm pretty speechless which is a good place for me to be. So, I'll end this by saying that moving is hard. Meeting new people and cleaning your place ump-teen times and buying all new spices is not the most fun thing that I've done too many times in my life. But, I will say this...God is good in choosing the ways in which He helps us move. Sometimes they are tangible, sometimes relational, and sometimes all of the above.
We had planned to maybe do a few of Drew's classes during Januarys or Augusts when we would go back and visit family in the States. Drew could fly up to Chicago and take a few classes and Eva and I could see family during his classes. In March, Drew got a notice that he was offered a scholarship that would cover a decent amount of what he would have to spend for his degree. The kicker, we would need to return to the States for 2 years for him to fulfill his end of the scholarship of working in the Intercultural Studies office every week. So, we prayed. What in the world are you doing, God? We were fine here in China with the groups of teachers you've given us. What are you doing, now?
I'm still not 100% sure what God is doing, but I do know that He continues to show us that this is His will for now. I don't really know why, but thankfully, I don't have to know. God does, and that's good enough for me.
It does mean for us, that we currently have a couch turned sideways and a coffee table slanted in the living room waiting for me to clean them and the carpet that we bought a few days ago. But, I haven't had a vacuum cleaner, so I haven't done any of that yet. It also has meant that we have been floored by the outpouring of love from our friends in OKC and some Chinese people who have never met us before in North Chicago that have given freely of their funds or mattresses or desk chairs or silverware or time to watch our daughter.
Here we are, amazed by the overwhelming amount of things that people have provided for us. All the time they've been saying to us, "this is God's gift" or "this is God's good plan". I haven't really experienced God's plan in a matter of a week before to fill a house with the things that we would need. To say I'm surprised would probably be an understatement. I feel like, why would you decide to give these things to us, God? Shouldn't you spend your gifts on people more worthy of your favor? Then, I'm reminded that I can't earn anything from God. He chooses the times when we need Him to provide. He chooses what and how He provides and He also chooses the people who provide the things so that we may have a closer relationship with those people. I'm pretty speechless which is a good place for me to be. So, I'll end this by saying that moving is hard. Meeting new people and cleaning your place ump-teen times and buying all new spices is not the most fun thing that I've done too many times in my life. But, I will say this...God is good in choosing the ways in which He helps us move. Sometimes they are tangible, sometimes relational, and sometimes all of the above.
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