Back to our Regular Life

We go back home tomorrow from this time of refreshing in Queensland. The last week has been difficult as we dedicated our time to growing closer to God and dealing with the loss of Talia. Without the distractions of home and work, it has allowed us to reflect on the times with Talia and our future.

What I can say is that we are regaining hope in so many ways. We expected to spend a week entirely by ourselves here in contemplation, but along with that God had other plans. Meeting Mandy and her husband Michael (who own the Eden on the Bay holiday apartments) has been a great blessing. They have been a wonderful encouragement and the pastors from their local Church also spoke powerfully into our lives.

Michael shared with me that God woke him at 3am the other night with a message for us, related to Jan's love for Guide Dog puppies (we raised 3 puppies over the last few years for the Guide Dogs). He felt that God was saying that as we raised puppies which belonged to the Guide Dogs Association, it was their right to determine when the puppy was ready to go back, at which point we had to let go and trust them to look after the dog appropriately. In the same way, God had given us Talia for a period of time, and we needed to trust that God knew the time for us to let go of Talia, since she truly belonged to God and not to us.

Talia has indeed changed our lives and both Jan and I have committed to living a life focused on eternity, to allow God to make us into people He can use to change lives and bring others closer to Him. We have decided to give up the stress and worry about a future family, finances and business opportunities and to simply focus our lives on knowing God, hearing from Him and stepping out in faith in everything we do.

No doubt we will find this a great challenge, since I have been very good at holding onto worry and trying to plan every area of our lives (with the associated stress which comes when things do NOT go to plan!). For me, this means letting go and trusting our Creator will bring us all we need to fulfil the plan He has for our lives. We are believing God for a family, as well as the most amazing business opportunities and relationships. It is time for us to live the life God intended for us and experience the true joy which is independent of our circumstances.

We will live the remainder of our lives pursuing His plan, as we look toward eternity with Talia.