Making Sacrifices...

As friends and family, many of you have been following my blog, but also just following my facebook updates. I've been accused of bearing too much on facebook, and wearing my heart on my sleeve at times, but I've come to be just inconspicuous enough that it makes people ask questions. :) It's a gift...

Here on this blog, I want to share the stories and pictures, but the one thing pictures always do is make it seem like everything is fun and adventurous. Well several years ago when I decided that I wanted to start living out my dreams, I read a book by Erwin McManus entitled "Wide Awake"...the one thing this book taught me about is not only learning how to pursue your dreams, but the challenges that you are bound to face when trying to live them out. Well currently, as many smiles as we push through, it hasn't been without some tears and frustrations. Our faith is being challenged, and stretched..and sometimes even exhausted.


For those of you who don't know, this past week we were surprised by an opportunity, from an absolute stranger to house sit for them for 2 weeks, and after staying in a cabin for the previous 3 weeks, this was a HUGE blessing..but still a question of what next haunts mine and Ty's mind. Although we have been offered to stay at a cabin once again, we are not only experiencing anxiety in realizing that we can't live there forever, but also know that without running water, we are bound to become exhausted again.
 

For those wondering, why we don't just rent, well a bit of back story, is that the area is filled with growth, but not enough housing. And rentals are few and far between, and are going for up to $5000 a month for a house rental..and 1500 plus for an apartment (if you are lucky enough to find one).


So...our questions lie in what's next. The challenge that is haunting is.."what if??" Including what if our house doesn't sell back in Moncton?? Those two words are the 2 words that can get in the way of us pursuing our dreams. As we talked to a couple last week that invited us in for supper..I got chills through my body as he talked about some of his and the church's prayers for people to come into the community and the church. Beyond a good stable employment for Ty and I, I believe we have a bigger purpose in being here. It's difficult to not give up, and not give in to the questions of "what if" and prepare to start "heading back". My head and my heart are in constant battle to try to figure out the steps that we need to take, and the plans that we need to make, even though God in the end has his final plan for us. What is God's plan? What is our plan? How do we know that we are pursuing our dreams that God has for us, not just the dreams that we have for our lives?


So every once in a while even despite all these challenges, I experience the hope of God again, and sometimes that's just all that I need to get me through. One of the way that I have truly experienced that hope in God again, here in Labrador is through nature;

 

The other way that I have experienced God, and faith encouragement in being here is through the people. I have never known people to be more welcoming, and loving. Everyone says how friendly Newfies are but I believe that in our case it has truly been people that God is sending our way, from the first day we arrived here, and a random stranger helped us fix our car, and to now where a stranger has let us stay in his home while he is gone for 2 weeks. Also much of the encouragement I know I have been experiencing from the support of people reading this, and even seeing my facebook status. Every prayer, and every thought has been encouraging for us. And sometimes when it is exhausting, that one little piece of encouragement can be enough to help me through the next day.



I've been exhausted...we've been exhausted, and have wanted to give up already so many times, but something tells me that we can't.....I just hope it's not my pride...