Whatever seems good to You

We turned our Visa applications in at the end of January and ever since then we have anxiously been awaiting the day when we are finally approved to head to Australia. In the beginning it was so exciting. We knew that it would be about a 2-3 month wait but we were up for it. We were thinking about what to pack and looking at plane tickets! At first it seemed like things were moving along quickly and we were hoping to leave sometime in March or April. Sadly that didn't happen. We were asked to get more information for the Embassy, so we did. As we mentioned before, now the only thing that we are waiting on is the church in Australia's nomination for us to come work for them to be approved. 6 weeks ago they asked for more information and said that as soon as they got it, the nomination would be approved immediately. That didn't happen. Then, 3 weeks ago the Australian Embassy said that we would get it within 2 weeks. And here we are. Still no nomination approval....which means still no visa. I've honestly been a little down lately. It seemed like everything was going so smoothly, then this last piece of the puzzle has been taking a long time. Every morning I check my email hoping that the nomination has been approved, but the email hasn't come. It seemed like we were so close, and now the idea of serving in Australia seems so far away.

Last week I was reading the book The Principle of the Path by Andy Stanley. Very good book by the way. I'd recommend it :) The whole book is about, "how to get from where you are, to where you want to be." Stanley talks about how to direct your life in a way that leads you to become the husband, wife, daughter, son, student, steward, parent, etc. that you want to be. At the end though, he discusses what happens if what you've wanted your whole life doesn't happen because of something that is out of your control like cancer, loss of a loved one and many others. He suggests that there are 2 ways to respond to this. 1. You could get angry with God, live your dreams through other people, you could despair, turn to alcohol, etc....Or 2. "You can drop to your knees and cry out in disappointment to your heavenly Father. You can mourn the loss of your dream, then wipe the tears from your eyes and say to God, 'Do to me whatever seems good to You. I still believe. I still trust. And I will continue to follow.'" Obviously, I cannot completely relate to the idea of losing a dream, but that last line he said really hit home for me. "Whatever seems good to You." I know in my head that God's timing is perfect. I know in my head that there is a reason that Sean and I are here for longer than we expected (if you remember our goal was February). But, I feel like when reading that yesterday, God finally made me understand in my heart.

I have lots of plans in my head of the way that I think things should go, but his timing and his will are so much better. We have been able to be a part of life changing events with family that we never would have if we left when we wanted to. This morning, when I checked my email I wasn't disappointed. I just said to myself, "whatever seems good to You."