Have you ever looked back,
and seen something bad as a gift —
a disruption that turned out to be divine re-direction?
Last year, we moved 7 times in 6 months across 4 continents.
It felt like failure. Like we’d made a huge mistake trying to serve in a small African town.
And yet, if it weren’t for that “unlucky” season, we never would have returned to Canada for temporary shelter — a place that once held depression and trauma for me, but through this trip, became a place of redemptive healing.
– For years, the kids had prayed to see snow — and this time, one of the biggest blizzards in decades came. ❄️
– Snow came just before our photoshoot — capturing a reunion we hadn’t had in 7 years.
– Cliff celebrated his dad’s 80th birthday, for the first time in ten.
The workaholic, self-conscious part of me squirms at how others might see this as just an “extended holiday,” but I remember what my MIL told me—
you plant tulip bulbs in winter so they can bloom in spring.🌷
Seeds are meant to grow in the dark.
And I’m glad some of our deepest fruit was borne here, out of sight.🌱
For the first time, I know this in my bones—
That more suffering isn’t holier.
That God cares deeply about my nervous system, my becoming— not just optics.
I’m learning too, that—
calling isn’t fixed to a place, a title, or a single role.
It changes.
And we don’t have to limit our service to what we tie our identity to.
It’s okay for me to pivot.
It’s okay for you, too.
We’re heading back now —
to messy realities, a car that won’t start, and a season that still feels fragile.
A world where life requires effort, negotiation, and resilience… where feeling cut, misunderstood, harassed, and unseen is part of our everyday.
And yet, I still trust God is doing something deep this season.
This is what I told my kids—
“Sometimes, the hardest things we go through can lead to life’s best gifts. The darkest soil can birth the most beautiful flowers.”🌷
Not every detour is a delay.
Some are grace in disguise.
And sometimes, it’s okay to take a bow and say a season is complete. 🌱
Thank you for journeying with us. 💛