Saying Farewell to Canada

As I type this, there are two people in my home that Nissan has employed to pack all of our things in paper and boxes in hopes it will arrive safely to our new home in Tennessee.

The time has come for our move to take place, and I'm filled with a mix of emotions.  Yes, I'm so excited to return home, to be in a warmer climate, closer to family and surrounded by beautiful green hills (at least they'll be turning green in a month or so).  Yet, I am a bit sad to leave some wonderful friends we have made here, and my heart is thankful for so many things we have experienced during our time in Canada.

I'm thankful for the ways I got to share my faith.  I have never had so many opportunities to talk to people about Jesus and His love for them.  God brought ladies into my life that needed to hear His story.  I wasn't always elegant in my delivery or bold in my approach, but I shared simply how God worked in my life.  I prayed for a friend as she sat across from me in my kitchen asking does God really guide me.  I looked in another friend's eyes and told her God would bring her through the difficult situation she was in.  I stood beside another friend as she buried the tiny body of her infant daughter. I shared about the grace Christ offers to a Muslim friend after she told me she was just trying to be good enough to earn a place in Heaven.  I invited a friend to be a part of a women's Bible study at my church so she could practice her English and learn more about God.

I say all of this not to toot my own horn.  On my own, I am weak and cowardly and timid.  God brought these ladies into my life as they were each searching, broken, and in need.  They came to me for help or advice or just needed someone to listen, and so I found it easy to share my Hope when they were so desperate for Hope themselves.

The three years we have spent in Canada have been filled with ups and downs.  I've seen some beautiful places and I've had some really lonely days.  I've gotten really tired of looking across the dinner table to see an empty chair where my husband would sit. I can also see how God has provided some really good things in the middle of some really difficult times.

So, as we pack and leave, I want to have a heart of thankfulness for all of the blessings we've had here in Canada.  I am thankful for the friends, for our church, for the small group who loved us well, and for  the amazing scenery we have seen as we've traveled this land called Canada.