Wednesday, November 07, 2007

When God says "no" . . . (at least for now)



Since we returned home from Alaska, I've had several people ask if we were going to just pack up and move up there. Even one of my supervisors at work today admitted he sometimes worried about me heading up the Alcan--for good.

"Just let me know when I need to start looking for a replacement," Roy muttered.

It shouldn't surprise me that people wonder about us moving to the Great Land for good. We (or perhaps I should say, I) are quite smitten with Alaska and talk about it more than . . . well, than just about any other place on the planet. We lived in Anchorage for 3 years, in Homer the summer of 2002, and we've returned to Alaska to do ministry (and yes, fish) ever since.

We've looked at property for the past several years with the thought of buying a vacation rental and eventually retiring in Homer. During the summers, of course. We have friends who would love to build us a little place and Alaska is still a good place to invest in real estate . . .

But we both felt we heard a firm "no" from the Lord on this trip. And we are fine with that.

I heard the door to retirement in Alaska slam shut during a conversation I had with a friend in Homer. Linda and Tom have 3 kids, just a smidge older than ours. Two are married and the youngest is about to tie the knot. Guess how many of their kids have chosen to stay in the same state as their parents?

Zip. Not a one.

The oldest and his spouse live back east. My friends get to see them once or twice a year.

The middle child, their only daughter, lives in Brazil with her husband and daughter. Yep, their first grandchild is growing like a weed--half a world away.

They invested in skype, a wonderful device you hook up to your computer which lets you call--and see--your loved ones almost anywhere on the planet.

"It's wonderful to be able to talk to the kids and see Maisie grow and change," Linda admitted. But her eyes teared up as she confessed, "But I just ache to hold my grandbaby."

They've been to Brazil once . . .

And their youngest is getting married this spring in--Guatemala. He and his bride-to-be plan to settle there.

Yikes! With Yellie and Krispin threatening to head for China after he graduates, Candyce leaving her heart in Sudan, and Lindsay refusing to budge from southern California (some would call it a foreign country) . . . it's not hard to predict the future.

We'll be spending every vacation day--and extra dollar--traveling to visit our kids!

Goodbye Homer hide-away . . . hello jet lag!

The cool thing is that even as we realized that now isn't the time to buy property in Alaska, the Lord reassured us that we will always have a home there. Good friends, acquaintences and folks we hardly knew all offered their homes to us during future visits. There's no lack of places to stay--even if we never own the place.

And my dear husband will be happy to learn that I heard the Lord say "no" again today. Since Clifford, our cat, died, I've had a hankering for another dog. I thought maybe sitting by the Sheltie lady on the plane to Alaska was a sign from above. But after paying $57 for flea medication and scooping up a week's worth of poop, I definitely heard the doggie door slamming shut, too.

For now, at least . . .

1 comments:

mexicandyce said...

wow. this is a big step for you.
but really, who knows whats going to happen, or where we all will be in a few years. our family will always be home to me, even if i did leave my heart in sudan.

funny enough, when i read your title, an african song ran through my head...
it goes like this...

when jesus say "yes"
nobody can say "no."

and then they just repeat "can say no, can say no, can say no, can say no."
its a ridiculous song, but i thought it appropriate.
love you.

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