My pre-occupation with getting settled back into my Netherlands home has distracted me from dwelling too much on our current misfortune. We are living in house number seven. I have had to pack up and set up home more times than most people do their entire lives. I guess I should consider myself experienced in many areas at this point. Flying across the Atlantic ocean, conquering jetlag symptoms, maintaining an on-again-off-again job_ these are my life achievements thus far! Our current most rewarding achievement as a couple is the fact that we now have a full-size couch in our living room, not just a loveseat.
The month of March has come and gone and it seems as if April will do just exactly the same. It is, afterall, already half over. Last year at this time my husband and I were sharing in so much hope, joy, and anticipation as his visa was about to be approved. I still have the perfume I was using last spring and on the rare occasion that I do wear it, the sweet scent reminds me of those exciting days. Now, a year later, I cannot help but shake my head, close my eyes, and take a deep breath at the thought of where time has brought us.
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| The highlights shown above are the flowers I planted over the weekend, Pieter's new car, date night to see Beauty and the Beast, and my very first canvas painting! It's never a dull moment when the two of us are together. There have been many lazy dinners on the couch, failed experimental dinner recipes, spontaneous outings to McDonald's, and evening strolls. . . and it is just the beginning of us making memories together in 2017. |
As many of you know, March was the month we were looking forward to. Five months was the initial amount of time we were told it would take to process our final waiver paperwork. After my husband's careful calculation of other waivers processing times in the past few months, he figured out that our new date to anticipate receiving the "denial or the approval notice" is around May 11th. Almost exactly a year from when we thought he would return to the U.S. in 2016. Although, we could very well receive the news at any time. With every day that passes, I only get more anxious for this to all finally be over.
At this time we cannot reveal any type of plan we have for after we receive the thumbs up or the thumbs down from immigration. After a year of talking about it, praying about it, and considering our options, we are unable to make any concrete plans until we know what direction God is leading us in.
In the meantime, we humbly and desperately ask for your prayers. I firmly believe we are in the final leg of this seemingly never-ending marathon we have been a part of together for the last twenty-eight months. And as I sit here trying my hardest to come up with some ingenious statement to say how my faith has grown, sometimes song lyrics say what is on our heart better than our own words ever could.
My new inspirational and encouraging Christian song that I have been listening to these days is "Even If" by MercyMe. I believe that every person that hears this beautiful ballad has their own wave of emotions that sweep through their mind as they listen to the words and the cries of this song. Emotions that were caused by a trial they endured in life.
At my young age of 23 I have been through some minor setbacks and have had my share of regrets and painful memories from years past, but this monumental, life-altering, current setback that my husband and I refer to as "the situation" would take the prize as being the biggest trial in my life thus far. It is a worry, a burden, and a battle everyday... a fear and a dread that I would not wish on my worst enemy to have your life, dreams, future, and your marriage hanging in the balance. My prayer is that I am able to take the strength, faith, and endurance I have accumulated during this trial to the next inevitable dark patch that the Lord brings me to. I hope that throughout the next 50+ years I have on this earth, God will allow me to walk out of the valley saying "It is well, it is well with my soul" each and every time.
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