"Fear Not"
Wow! To say the last few days have been crazy would be the understatement of the century!
Before I left "the states," as the locals here call it, my mom asked me if I would be able to study abroad if I hadn't moved to Alabama almost a year ago now (WHAT?!)... the answer? I'm not entirely sure. Thinking about going back to Alabama now seems like an absolute breeze compared to moving across the world... but then again, I thought moving to Alabama would be one of the hardest feats I would ever conquer and at the time, it was. Then moving home was even harder, but so was losing the people I've lost in my life but the one thing God has taught me, is He's ALWAYS there! And boy oh boy does he remind me in the craziest of ways.. Especially when I think I've forgotten how graceful and merciful He is!
Abbie and I flew out of Omaha the first, had a layover in Newark and another layover in London before we would arrive in Dublin. A few days out we knew that there were major snow storms happening here in London but we didn't think anything of it. After our layover in Newark, we found out that our flight was only the second one getting to London that day so we thought we better not back out now because there was another storm building up in the Northeast and we'd never make it out of Jersey. We proceeded with the plan and flew out of Newark as planned and on time only to find out halfway through the flight that Dublin itself is basically shut down due to blizzard conditions. Okay, we'll figure it out we were planning on being in London on Monday anyway. So many questions arose, do we even go to Dublin? Do we switch our flights? Do we just stay in London three extra days?
The United Airlines rep was less than helpful, we didn't get our money back, no vouchers, nothing. We had to make a claim to get our bags and now March 3rd, let's just say, God Bless H&M...
After a few breakdowns and utter sleep deprivation, we found a hotel, took a nap, checked in, got settled, got some food and went to bed. The time change will definitely be the hardest adjustment BUT on day #3, we're already getting on track.
London has been COLD! Snow, rain, fog, we've seen it all! (Thank the Lord above that I packed my rain boots in my carry-on)... We ventured to the London Eye, went through a play-type-thing called the London Dungeons, ate at some cute off-the-beaten path places, walked down Oxford Street in the snow, if you've been to NYC it's the London version of 5th Avenue or SoHo. And although it's not the spring we expected and Big Ben is being worked on and isn't visible, London is still beautiful.
Like I said, God never fails to remind me how gracious He is, especially when I'm at my most vulnerable. After breakdown number one, I remembered how I knew I wouldn't get through this without God and serious prayer. That this was going to be another "Alabama" adjustment. One of the devotions I'm reading is called "Fear Not" and the first day was all about Elisha and the Syrians. How Elisha warned the king of Israel where the Syrians were hiding and the king of Syria thought there was a spy only to be told that a man of God kept warning the Israelites. When Elisha's servant went out of the city only to see that the Syrians were surrounding them, Elisha told his servant, "Do not fear." He then prayed that God would open, "the spiritual eyes of his servant, and when He did, the servant could see that there were even more angels surrounding them than the Syrians." God reminded me that when we live our lives by what we see and what we hear, we will live in fear. If I had lived the first day in London by sight, by not getting to Dublin, by not getting our luggage, by not getting our money back, I would have gone home in an instant. But having moved away from home before, I knew I had to pray and pray HARD for God to show me His grace in this situation. That the devil would NOT get the best of the situation. That we would not be afraid, that we would be able to whole-heartedly trust in Him and for whatever reason we didn't get to Dublin, it was for good. For whatever reason we're staying where we are and that we had to go buy a few sweaters and freeze instead of enjoying the beautiful spring early, is all in God's favor. And I whole-heartedly trust in His plan and what He has in store for us here in London and for this entire three months.
"So he answered, 'Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.' And Elisha prayed, and said, 'Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.' Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha." 2 Kings 6:16-17
The angels of the Lord were with us and looking over us and I pray that I continue to be in awe of God's beauty here in Europe. That I get to physically see His beauty but that I walk more by faith than by sight. That I praise and worship and trust in Him more than I ever have! Please continue to keep us in your prayers ❤️
"What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31
Before I left "the states," as the locals here call it, my mom asked me if I would be able to study abroad if I hadn't moved to Alabama almost a year ago now (WHAT?!)... the answer? I'm not entirely sure. Thinking about going back to Alabama now seems like an absolute breeze compared to moving across the world... but then again, I thought moving to Alabama would be one of the hardest feats I would ever conquer and at the time, it was. Then moving home was even harder, but so was losing the people I've lost in my life but the one thing God has taught me, is He's ALWAYS there! And boy oh boy does he remind me in the craziest of ways.. Especially when I think I've forgotten how graceful and merciful He is!
Abbie and I flew out of Omaha the first, had a layover in Newark and another layover in London before we would arrive in Dublin. A few days out we knew that there were major snow storms happening here in London but we didn't think anything of it. After our layover in Newark, we found out that our flight was only the second one getting to London that day so we thought we better not back out now because there was another storm building up in the Northeast and we'd never make it out of Jersey. We proceeded with the plan and flew out of Newark as planned and on time only to find out halfway through the flight that Dublin itself is basically shut down due to blizzard conditions. Okay, we'll figure it out we were planning on being in London on Monday anyway. So many questions arose, do we even go to Dublin? Do we switch our flights? Do we just stay in London three extra days?
The United Airlines rep was less than helpful, we didn't get our money back, no vouchers, nothing. We had to make a claim to get our bags and now March 3rd, let's just say, God Bless H&M...
After a few breakdowns and utter sleep deprivation, we found a hotel, took a nap, checked in, got settled, got some food and went to bed. The time change will definitely be the hardest adjustment BUT on day #3, we're already getting on track.
London has been COLD! Snow, rain, fog, we've seen it all! (Thank the Lord above that I packed my rain boots in my carry-on)... We ventured to the London Eye, went through a play-type-thing called the London Dungeons, ate at some cute off-the-beaten path places, walked down Oxford Street in the snow, if you've been to NYC it's the London version of 5th Avenue or SoHo. And although it's not the spring we expected and Big Ben is being worked on and isn't visible, London is still beautiful.
Like I said, God never fails to remind me how gracious He is, especially when I'm at my most vulnerable. After breakdown number one, I remembered how I knew I wouldn't get through this without God and serious prayer. That this was going to be another "Alabama" adjustment. One of the devotions I'm reading is called "Fear Not" and the first day was all about Elisha and the Syrians. How Elisha warned the king of Israel where the Syrians were hiding and the king of Syria thought there was a spy only to be told that a man of God kept warning the Israelites. When Elisha's servant went out of the city only to see that the Syrians were surrounding them, Elisha told his servant, "Do not fear." He then prayed that God would open, "the spiritual eyes of his servant, and when He did, the servant could see that there were even more angels surrounding them than the Syrians." God reminded me that when we live our lives by what we see and what we hear, we will live in fear. If I had lived the first day in London by sight, by not getting to Dublin, by not getting our luggage, by not getting our money back, I would have gone home in an instant. But having moved away from home before, I knew I had to pray and pray HARD for God to show me His grace in this situation. That the devil would NOT get the best of the situation. That we would not be afraid, that we would be able to whole-heartedly trust in Him and for whatever reason we didn't get to Dublin, it was for good. For whatever reason we're staying where we are and that we had to go buy a few sweaters and freeze instead of enjoying the beautiful spring early, is all in God's favor. And I whole-heartedly trust in His plan and what He has in store for us here in London and for this entire three months.
"So he answered, 'Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.' And Elisha prayed, and said, 'Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.' Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha." 2 Kings 6:16-17
The angels of the Lord were with us and looking over us and I pray that I continue to be in awe of God's beauty here in Europe. That I get to physically see His beauty but that I walk more by faith than by sight. That I praise and worship and trust in Him more than I ever have! Please continue to keep us in your prayers ❤️
"What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31
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