Plans Interrupted

God has an interesting way of interrupting my life. I wonder sometimes why I give him so much freedom to do so. It's inconvenient. It's uncomfortable. It's annoying.

God doesn't seem to work according to my timeline. At the time that I last wrote on my blog, way back in 2010, I assumed that I would remain in that country for years to come. God, though, had different plans and later that year I moved on.

This is one of the last pictures I took in that country.

I took a little over a year off as a nomad I spent time getting better equipped, being with friends and family in the States, and rebuilding foundations. God was yet again preparing me for another adventure in another country. Another culture. Another language. Our team goal was to open a language center. Once the center was open, I again assumed that was to stay and help it get off the ground by teaching and helping with administration. God had made it clear that that was where I was to go, but He never clearly laid out the timeline. In hindsight, it was only clear to me that I should be in the country and start the center, but never completely clear as to how long I was to be there.

I took some time and traveled with some people in Asia. 

I also took a Christian counseling course. 

I spent some time in the States with my family.

This is a picture of me, my mom, and all of the nieces and nephew. 

My youngest sister, Kate, got

married during my time in the States.

Me wearing a local dress in my last country.

After a few months in my new country, God revealed His plan for me.

In stepped Romany interrupting my carefully laid plans and stepping into my carefully guarded heart.

One of the best first pictures of me and Romany.

This is three months after we started dating and

we took a trip to Egypt for a conference and to

visit his family.

I love to plan. I love to be organized and have a schedule. God knows that and there are some seasons in my life in which He allows that to happen. On the other hand, sometimes God knows it's best to rock the boat a bit. He doesn't do this as torture, although it can feel that way. Instead, I feel that in my life, He does it to draw me closer to Him, to change and transform me, or challenge me in new areas which I would be hesitant to go to if He didn't give me a little push.

During these times, it sometimes feels like I step farther away from God: I lose touch with His voice, my quiet times become dry, and life seems to loose its joy, but on the other side of change and rocking comes times of growth and revelation. God doesn't leave me during the times of change; instead, He uses them to teach me to draw closer to Him and to rely on Him as my only source of stability. Through it all, I come out a different person. A person with deeper faith and greater love for the One who is Never Changing, All Knowing, and most of all my Savior and Friend.