A Moment of Peace During the Storm

"Wow that is SO soon!" is the phrase that everyone seems to proclaim when we tell them about our upcoming move. This brings mixed emotions to us. There is a part of us that says, "Yes it is, it's finally here!" but there is a huge part of us that wants to find the nearest coat closet and go sit in it for awhile.

We are starting to feel the pressure and the reality of what our life will be starting to sink in. However, the school in Belfast doesn't seem so worried about it. They are taking their sweet time getting us all the paperwork we need so we can obtain our Visas. That's right, we still don't have our Visas. It has been a long complicated last couple of weeks trying to work with the school to get together what we need. They do this all the time and know that it'll be fine but we DON'T do this all the time and we would really like it to be finished.

It's been a trying time for me. Recently, I took a spiritual gifts test at church and confirmed what I have already been told about myself. My number one gift is faith. Well guess what? My faith has been stretched, pulled, torn, and put through a blender. I got to the point that I told Harrison, "I just don't feel like I have faith this is going to happen, which I know God is doing on purpose, which I don't like."

The Lord is providing small reminders to Harrison and I almost daily that in the end He will make it work. In my human arrogance, however, I just want to know why I can't have the whole package NOW? Because that's not how faith works is it?

He gives us small things almost daily that let me breathe even if just for a moment. A moment of peace during the storm. He frequently reminds me of when He stretched my faith just a few years ago when we uprooted and moved to Escondido.

In the summer of 2012, a week and a half before moving across the country, neither of us had jobs lined up and we had no place to live. That's right, we had a moving truck booked to put all of our stuff in without knowing where in the world was Point B. That very day I was offered a job over the phone and we were approved for an apartment. After being there for two weeks, Harrison was offered a job and we were able to purchase a second car. Our head was spinning from His blessings.

In February of 2013, my student loans came out of deferment, and we were faced with an $800 a month bill on top of our $1,200 monthly rent. There were MANY MANY tears shed. How could we do this? Harrison was in school and working at Starbucks full-time and I was working at a school. We weren't exactly rolling in it. My parents were visiting and we prayed together and asked God for help. My faith was stretched, money couldn't appear out of nowhere! Well, apparently it can. EVERY month the money showed up. Harrison was offered more preaching opportunities and I was able to get more hours at work. If I thought too far in advance, I would panic, I just had to rely on God and say "This month it is here and that's all I can do."

In the fall of 2014, we wanted so desperately for Harrison to do doctorale studies. He had a great topic in mind and started pitching it to various schools. We were getting nowhere. Again, MANY MANY tears were shed (which seems to be the natural reaction to these situations). Why wasn't God opening up this door for us? We starting looking into other work for him. Maybe we would have to wait a few years for him to be able to do this. As soon as we let go of the dream, and let God do His will, Harrison was offered to work on his PhD in Belfast on a COMPLETELY different topic than the one we had been pushing for so hard.

In March of this year, we found out that the full scholarship we were optimistic Harrison would receive was not going to happen. He would get a small sum but nothing that would come near to paying for all of the expenses we were facing. Again, I cried A LOT. How on earth are we going to pay for $60,000 worth of tuition plus another $20,000 or so in living expenses on top of the bills we already have? Again, my faith was shot. Could we even take up this opportunity? Through all of this the Lord has shown me what an amazing thing is the Body of Christ. People we have known for years to people we have known for a few weeks have given to us SO generously. We were given the opportunity to come back to Birmingham so that I could put my full paycheck each week straight into savings. In March, we were at 0% of an $80,000 goal that needed to be reached within 3 years. Folks, today just 8 months later we are at 38.88%. That is enough just shy of two full years of tuition. My mind is blown every time I crunch the numbers!

So I sit here, November of 2015, with my faith stretched. How do I know that it'll all be okay? I just told you. He never leaves His children behind. He always gives them moments of peace during the storm so that they know that they are loved and they are always in the palm of His hand.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Sarah