A Stormy Week

Tuesday started out with gusty winds that shook the windows and littered the ground with a little bit of everything. The rain came down so hard and so visible, I thought it was snow from a distance. The gray of the sky was closer to black than white. It was a stormy day, plain and simple.

And it was exactly how our life felt. Long story short, a phone call that we placed to find out why we had not received our new visa ended with being told that Bryan could not work for the next 5 months while we waited for a verdict on our appeal. We needed to make an appeal because we had applied for the wrong visa (a mistake that didn't look like a mistake after reading Canadian law!). Because they were a couple of months behind on work visas, we didn't find out that we were denied (or that there was a problem) until AFTER our visitor record expired. Now we had further problems because a lapse in documented "residency" put our medical and tax benefits in major jeopardy even if we DID get a new visa. And that was all on top of the fact that we had just begun signing papers to rent a new house that very morning.

It was a stormy afternoon and evening on Tuesday. And the clouds stayed till Thursday evening during which time we contacted an immigration lawyer, spoke to border agents, and got as much counsel as we could on what we should do. We had prayers and encouragement coming at us full force and we were so thankful for those as we held tight to the Anchor of our souls!

Thursday night, we headed down to the border and, after waiting about 45 minutes, we walked out with the documentation we needed to ensure Bryan's work status as well as preserve our "residency status" in Canada for medical and tax purposes!!!!!!!!! God had made a way in the midst of the uncertainty and had provided for every single thing that was needed!!!! The clouds dissipated as the sun (or, rather, SON!) broke through!

It sounds so "cut and dry" when I type it all out...but those 48 hours involved a lot of preaching to ourselves and a lot of pressing into the Lord. We truly were unsure about the outcome. The Lord brought sweet encouragement to our hearts through our dear church family here as well as friends and family afar.

We had an opportunity to live out, before our kids, what we say we believe...that God is good all of the time no matter what He does...and that what He does is ALWAYS for our good. They were so excited about our move to a new house (it's a beautiful home that we feel so blessed to be able to rent) and we had an opportunity to help them see that God was just as good whether we got to move or if we continued to stay where we were. His plan is best, even when it is not what we would plan and even when it involves pain!

Tomorrow, I want to share some of the verses and encouragements that others shared with us. There was nothing sweeter than being reminded of God's precious promises and being given more of His Word to fight against our flesh, against grumbling and complaining, and to help us as we sought to take our thoughts captive and renew our minds! I thought what others shared might encourage your heart, too, if you are going through a trial...or, they may be beautiful words that you can use to share with someone else in their time of need!

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." 2 Corinthians 1:3-4