Not By Chance

"However, it is written:
'No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him'--   But God has revealed it to us by His Spirit" (1 Cor. 2:9-10a)

  If you would have told me on August 8, 2008 that during my marriage I would be travelling from coast to coast to coast with my husband, I would either not have believed you or I would have had a major panic attack. That was not the plan. I'm not sure what "the plan" was/is anymore, but this journey we've been on the past four years was definitely unexpected.
  The pastor at Charlottetown CRC posted a great quote this morning that really spoke to my heart and relates to this topic quite well:

"God often takes years to position us in the place he has in mind, rarely revealing the entire plan at one time. The Lord nudges and leads a half step here, a quarter step there, to get us where he wants us to go." -- Margaret Feinberg Hungry for God

  That said, I believe in living in the "now", making the most of the place He has you at this time. I'm thankful that He knows that I wouldn't have been ready to move to The Yukon back in 2008. The adjustment this move is going well so far. I'm surprised at the lack of meltdowns and and attacks of lostness and loneliness. I am sure that a big reason we are doing so well right now is because of the the prayer support of so many back "home". I say "home" because we have had many homes and amazing communities that have loved and supported us along the way and it is overwhelming to comprehend being on the hearts and minds of so many incredible people.

  I can't believe Marcel and I have only been in the territory for four days... so much has happened! By the grace of God things have fallen into place in amazing ways. In ways that we could not have orchestrated-- not matter how much planning and preparing I tried to do :)

 Not by Chance:

* The border crossings (we drove through the US) went so smoothly. We had cheerful guards who didn't eve)n ask to look at all the paperwork I had prepared to prove our journey through their land was legit.
* Our 2003 Nissan Sentra, "Scout", was a real trooper! We had NO problems the entire drive. PTL!
*We had the opportunity to visit with great friends from Terrace, BC who had relocated to Cold Lake, Alberta. What an encouragment and blessing to visit with them!
* We met a couple in August on our plan ride to PEI who lived in Dawson Creek, BC which just happened to be a great place to stop along our route. When they heard we were going to be driving to the Yukon in a couple weeks, they invited us to stay with them and so we texted them along the way and unfortunately only the girl was home, but she still opened her home to complete strangers and showed great hospitality!
* We met a trapper at a little campground on the Alaska Hwy who teaches survival in the wilderness courses to the RCMP. What a great story he had! He also directed us to some more reasonably priced gas stations along the hwy and informed us what gas stations were even still open for the season which came in real handy when the gas gage started getting lower.
* When we arrived Saturday night, an old highschool friend just happened to be "in town" which was a great lift to the spirits on a night that was a bit overwhelming.
* When I had called the hostel we ended up staying at this week from Ontario they were booked full. Our only option was to stay in a dorm room on bunks with four other people for the week. Marcel's boss had some connections though and got us a little cabin (literally the greenhouse shed) that had a heater in it, a warm bed, and some lights where we had privacy and a place to lay our head to rest.
* Marcel's first day of work was excellent!! I knew right away when I came to visit in the afternoon and was told he was at the "roadhouse" with his co-oworkers that he was doing okay. They are fun people and the guy Mar shares his office with even gave us a tour of Whitehorse yesterday and a bottle of homemade wine to welcome us! It made me so happy and thankful when Marcel turned to me and said later that day, "Amy- this is aweome! I'm going to love my job!" Wow. PTL.
* Marcel's first day he had to do a story on a marathon that happened on the weekend... and this is almost too crazy... the guy who won the marathon-- David Eikelboom-- has connections to some of our Redeemer friends. It may have been a stretch-- a friend's sister's fiancee... but still really nice to have some sort of connection to ease the nerves of his first story.
* Wow- Not by Chance... my husband is a Sports Editor at a daily paper. PTL.
* Getting a phone-- a bell plan-- and having 10 numbers I can call anywhere in Canada for free! Awesome!
* Then, yesterday, I called our apartment manager (we are supposed to move in on October 1st) and I was pleasantly suprised to find out that our apartment was already ready!!! YaY! I mean, the cabin is cozy, but to have our own place... to know that we are going to stay in one place for awhile... I can unpack boxes and put pictures on the wall, and buy whatever groceries I want... Yessss!
* When I got the call that our apartment was ready, I was at the Yukon Teacher's Union with a woman who photocopied all my documents for me and gave me a little pep talk about heading to the Education department to finalize my supply teaching application. She heard me on the phone with the apartments annnnd... get this, her sister owns our apartment building! Everyone is so open and friendly in this town. Awesome.
* Right after I got the key to our new place, Greyhound called. We were worried about this. We were hoping the bus would get stuck somewhere due to an avalanche or something to delay our 9 boxes from arriving before we had a place to put them.... but all in God's timing.... it worked out perfectly!
* So now, four days in, we are in our apartment, we have working cell phones, I'm delightfully unpacking boxes like it's Christmas, and I'm hopeful about my trip to the Education Department later today.
 
  I believe that all the above has not happened by chance, but by the purposeful orchestration of a God who sees all and knows all and works through all. He has His hand upon us and is before us. I know there will be challenges in the future, but my hope is that we can rest in the Faithfulness of our caring Father and know that all things (even trials) work for the good of those who love Him and have been called according to his purpose (Rom 8:28).

Signing out with a thankful heart.
Amy