Home in the Father's arms...

This morning I woke up feeling unsettled. It was only 4:30, and pitch black in our room, so I grabbed my laptop and went and sat on the floor of the bathroom between our adjacent dorm rooms. Tapping away, I was feeling alone, and kind of upset. I wondered as I looked at Facebook whether I was even being honest with you all. Honestly, for all the blessings, this past month has been really hard. 

Suddenly, I sensed a motion in the room. I was no longer alone. Was it a mouse?.... Eek! Yikes, no, it was the hamster we are taking care of, Little Nibbles, scampering across the bathroom floor. Then quick as lightening, she was under the door and into the girls’ room. Thankfully I secured her safely and returned her to the cage, seeing the breach in the tunnel that allowed for her clever escape. With a big sigh of relief, and a glance at my sleeping princesses, (Anya strongly objects to this portrayal  ) I thanked God for saving Little Nibbles and saving us the horror of having to explain the loss of a beloved pet. 

I decided maybe I needed to go for a walk with some worship music instead, so off I went, down the street. Past the home of the boy whose plant I am caring for, past house we will begin sitting next week, past the home of the cats we were sitting this past week, past the canals that are home to the birds that we've been feeding with old bread from the Tyndale cafeteria, and finally back "home" to the dorm. I felt welcome here.

"And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name's sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life." Matthew 19:29

It made me think of the verse above... It is hard not having a "home," and yet, we somehow just haven't felt right about signing a lease on one here. Not only is it really expensive but the houses are gutted; no floor, no fixtures, no frills at all. For some reason, inexplicable to all expats, that is just how it is done here. The thought of accumulating a household of possessions here is down right unnerving. So, we've waited. This has been especially hard on Anya, which of course makes it hard on me as I am generally the one with whom her angst is expressed.


So, I just wanted to share that after asking for prayers last weekend, Matt and I felt a peace about not signing a lease, and waiting. We had an offer for some house sitting in August and a different offer in September and October. On Tuesday night we went to the Fall House (as we are starting to call it), and it was like a dream come true, or better said, a prayer perfectly answered.


Anya had been begging us to get a house right next to a canal with a balcony (not exactly the bargain shopper just yet). Well, we got to the house and sure enough, not only was it right next to a canal, but the first room at the top of the stairs had a beautiful balcony. Anya claimed it right away. The next room, now Nora's future space, had a waterbed, which thrilled them both. I was thrilled when the lovely, older Dutch woman whose home it is and who had been entirely proper up until that moment began to throw the girls on to the bed, just for the sheer joy of watching them enjoy the "splash." On the way "home" to Tyndale, Nora confided that she had been praying for a waterbed. Pretty cool, God!!


Not only that but the day before going to see the house, Matt had really begun to miss his farm. Well, the older Dutch gentleman of the house is a master gardener who has the most amazing Garden of Eden type front and back yards with a huge garden and greenhouse about five minutes away by bike that we will be tending while they are gone. Amazing!!


I have to admit, it is still not easy to not know what is next, November onward, but by typing and sharing this testimony to God's provision, my faith is strengthened that we are not alone. Little Nibbles is safe in her cage and so are we in the arms of our loving Father.