It’s important to never rule any of your desires out simply
because you cannot necessarily see how they will manifest themselves.
While
vacationing in Lisbon, Portugal, Douglas and I received news that his mother was
not expected to live much longer. We immediately cut our trip short and planned
to go to South Carolina to be by her side. We flew back to Algiers and
remained there for three days while waiting for our plane tickets to be
purchased. We packed our suitcases preparing to likely attend his mother’s
funeral.
After
being in South Carolina for only a few days, we received news that my dad was
critically ill in New York. The doctors couldn’t tell whether he would live to
see the following day. The unthinkable was happening. While on emergency
leave for one parent, we had to extend the leave due to an emergency situation
for another parent. I could feel my stress levels rising as we tried to figure
out our next steps. We left for New York a few days later to be by my father’s
side.
We
spent a total of three weeks in the US. Those were three weeks filled with
worry, love, anxiety, excitement, stress, comfort, sadness, and joy. We battled so many emotions, both bad and good. Douglas’ mother made a
huge turn around. She is doing much better now compared to her condition when we arrived. My dad is also doing better. Douglas and I are
blessed that both our parents are still here, fighting to live each day. Now, regardless of what their future holds, we take solace
in knowing that we got to be by their sides. This situation is a reminder to make your memories great because you never know when your last one will be.
Douglas
and I have very strong faith. Therefore, I cannot help but mention how blessed
we are or how wonderful our God is throughout many of my blog entries. We were
itching to get away for a bit. We needed a break from the monotonous routine we
had succumbed to in Algiers. As much as we would have liked to visit our family
in the US on our own accord, it was not ideal for us to do. Round-trip tickets
to the States from Algiers average approximately $1700 per person, and that is to only one destination. If we wanted to visit all of our immediate family in two
additional states we would have had to pay for that airfare as well. Also, we
would not have been allowed to vacation in the US for three weeks.
How
beautiful is God’s design that although both our parents were critically ill simultaneously,
He changed both their conditions for the better, simultaneously? How beautiful
is God’s design that He used the Marine Corps to take us from Algeria to the
United States without any airfare expense to our bank account? How beautiful is
God’s design that He placed a kind hearted, family-oriented Commanding Officer
in charge of our Region to grant us permission to take leave, extend leave, and
cancel his own Command Visit that was scheduled during this time? How beautiful is God’s design that He took us
to both South Carolina and New York, and made it so that we could see several
family members, including all immediate relatives on the East Coast? How
beautiful is God’s design that He put people in our lives that opened their
homes for us to temporarily reside and shared their possessions for us to use
as our own? How beautiful is God’s design that he touched the hearts of so many
of our close friends to give them the desire and means to visit with us on such
short notice?
To
some these actions may be pure happenstance, for others it may be accredited to
good luck, but for Douglas and me, we know this manifestation was nothing but
God. We never know what life will bring us. So, rather than dismissing what we
think will never happen, maybe we should embrace the endless possibilities. The sun always shines after a storm. Below are pictures of our possibilities and beautiful sunshine.
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