Thursday, August 28, 2014

Light at the end of the tunnel

We are nearing the end of this journey.
Exactly one year and one day after I came to Vegas without my family, we received word from the National Visa Center that the last file had been officially approved and we could expect to hear in the near future about when our interview would be.
This has been a long journey, longer than we imagined.
It isn't over yet; we still have to wait for our interview date, fly to Montreal for the actual interview, get medicals done for Jo and the kids, and then actually drive down to Vegas; but we can see the light now.

In some respects this past year has gone by quicker than any year of my life.  Moving back to Vegas, becoming a pastor at a church I love, getting reacquainted with old friend, making new friends, learning to live without my family, all these things and many more have made the year fly by.

In other respects this year has been the longest of my life.  It is painful to say this, but I've been on my own for so long now that it is beginning to feel normal.  That fact, in and of itself, tells me how long this year has been.  The constant uncertainty of the visa journey has made the year feel overly long. With every small victory we thought the separation was over, only to have it extended.  When those defeats happened, the sadness of knowing we were going to be separated even longer made those next weeks seem like forever.

But now, finally, we can start thinking about the future again.  We can begin to dream about buying a house again, about making it a home, about living in it as a family again.  We can see our kids back on their educational and vocational journeys, no longer feeling as if they can't really enroll in college classes, or take on a new job, or date or make close friends because all along they've known their lives in Canada were only temporary.  

I feel like I'm reading the final chapter in a book.  I'm excited to see how it ends, but I have to be patient and finish reading each page.  These last pages have things to teach us.  These last days and weeks apart can still teach us things too.

And so I know, that even in these final weeks apart, there are still things for me to learn, still areas that I can grow in.  This year has taught me a lot about the husband and father and leader God wants me to be.  I need to be careful to still hear Him in these final weeks.  
Don't rush.
Even though I want to, even though I want to just skip to the end and read the last words and get my family down here, I have to wait.  Now that I see the light at the end of the tunnel, I am impatient to escape the tunnel and live in the light, but I have to wait.  It is coming, but it isn't here yet.

You see, this year has taught me a lot about patience and now, so close to the end, is when I need to exercise it the most.  


   

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