By Brigid Winter
It seemed like some sort of déjà vu – me heading off on a new adventure, launching out into what was uncharted territory for me, not knowing what to expect. Hadn’t I been in this place before? It started back in 1999 when I headed for South Korea on what was undoubtedly the biggest adventure of my life. Travelling thousands of miles on my first international trip to a country I had no knowledge of and whose language I did not speak, just one month after graduation. Is that really what I spent four hard years working to put myself through college for, to become a missionary English teacher?
Nevertheless, I was excited and apprehensive all at once. The decision had been made, things fell into place, and the adventure began. My adventure started when I missed my initial flight because my passport was still in the US, where it had been sent to arrange for a visa, to when I arrived at the airport and no one was there to meet me, all the way to my flight home four years later!
Here I was again, about to embark on yet another adventure, but this adventure was different in several ways. Firstly, it would not take me to “strange lands.” I was heading closer to home – North America, and this time not for work. More importantly, this adventure was different because it was filled with trepidation and uncertainty, and my old friend, worry, was rearing his worrisome head. My worry stemmed from the fact that I had been experiencing ill health for the last few years and was just a couple of months out of major surgery, heading to a place where I knew no one. Three weeks before my flight still had no idea where I would be staying when I landed in freezing Canada – me coming from the tropics! I think that deserved some worry, don’t you? Then one night, while contemplating my lack of housing and options, I decided I was not going to worry about this. God’s got this! Wasn’t He the one who provided the opportunity in the first place? Wasn’t He the one who granted the miracle in the form of the scholarship, the very scholarship I had applied for years earlier and didn’t receive? He was not going to leave me hanging! Isaiah 41:10 (KJV) came to mind: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”
Following that decision to stop worrying (it wasn’t helping anyway), things quickly started falling into place, no doubt because I had decided to leave everything in God’s capable hands! Within days, I found what appeared to be the perfect apartment on Craigslist. It looked great, the price was right, my soon-to-be flatmate sounded perfect, and deal breakers for me – a personal bathroom and indoor laundry facilities! This was too good to be true. I quickly sent off an e-mail, and the rest, as they say, was history!
It wasn’t that simple, though, renting an apartment in Canada while in Trinidad. I had yet to meet the landlady and get her approval – she requested a credit check and references; meanwhile, where was I going to stay? I would be arriving in Canada on December 29th, and classes would begin on January 4th – that was cutting it pretty close! But miracles happened for me, and as Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” My prospective flatmate said she would pick me up at the airport, and I could stay at the apartment until I met with the landlady (the landlady was not part of this discussion). If that wasn’t a miracle, I don’t know what is! In hindsight, I realized that may not have been the best decision, having a stranger meet you at the airport and take you to her apartment to stay. She could have been a serial killer for all I knew! I had never even left the address with my family back home just in case something happened to me! Undoubtedly, God was in the midst of my decision-making and adventure and worked everything out according to His will. It turned out my flatmate (yes, I did get the place!) was not a serial killer after all, and we were a great fit! The apartment and its location were also perfect; it was a situation custom-built just for me! My God is awesome! Philippians 4:6 (KJV) was an apt reminder: “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
As my adventures with God continue, I am reminded daily to “Trust in the Lord with all [my] heart, and lean not on [my] own understanding; in all [my] ways [I will] acknowledge Him, and He shall direct [my] paths” (Proverbs 3: 5-6. KJV). I had never considered myself an adventurous person, but I guess once you get a taste of adventuring with God, there is no going back! Why not start an adventure with Him today?
