10 Years Ago...

Ten years ago, April of 2010 we were busy cleaning our house and selling everything we didn't think we would want in a year when we returned from Nicaragua.  Our plan was to spend a year in Nicaragua, actually, Dwight's plan was 6 months.  Our plan was for such a short time because if the kids were struggling or if it wasn't a good fit for us, then we could change plans and return to the U.S.. 

We rented our house furnished.  We all packed two suitcases and were ready to leave for Nicaragua on June 28.  The evening of the 27th we got a call from American Airlines saying our flight had been cancelled.  Wait a minute I thought; we are moving to Nicaragua, our bags are packed, we have left our house, you can't cancel our flight.  But they did and rescheduled us to fly out two days later.

That is how our life has been over the last 10 years.  We make a plan, and our plan, for the most part, has not gone at all as we expected.  I think we are better for this.  Our expectations are very low in expecting that anything should go as plan or want, we can pretty much 'roll with it', in every situation.  We still long to have control of our lives but life itself has shown us that really the only thing we have control over is how we will respond to constant change and inconvenience.  

Life in Nicaragua has been difficult.  It has often felt like sand paper wearing away every rough edge of me.  I remember at that 6 month mark, when it was time for Dwight and I to decide if we would stay in or leave Nicaragua in June.  It was a hard decision.  The easy thing would be to say, we did a year, peace out Nicaragua.  But there was no way we could say, "peace out" because there was no peace; life was hard, uncomfortable and filled with someone's tears every day.  It seemed like we all took turns having sad days but God was faithful because it was never all of us at the same time.  

It was clear to Dwight and I (as clear as having a sliver in your foot) that we had to stay in Nicaragua. If we left after 1 year, we would be leaving bitter, angry and very undone.  We were in the middle of God working and we knew that He would be faithful to finish what He started.

I felt like God gave me a compass verse when we moved to Nicaragua:

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."

2 Corinthians 3:17 

I knew He wanted me to keep this verse in front of me always so I would know if I was walking where He was; because where He is, there is freedom.

Little did we know all that was to come.  

I can say I wouldn't change a thing in my life because through the difficulties He has shown me over and over again that he is good, he is faithful and he makes me strong when I am weak.