Finding God at the other side of the ocean (1)

Today I have the honor of sharing my mom-in-law’s story. I’m loving all these written accounts of all the different ways God pulls His children closer to Him, how He shows His love and Himself!

My story is certainly different then others. When the Lord has His eye on you and you leave just a little gap for Him, He’ll take you seriously. Going back in time I want to take you along on a very special journey.

Looking back, I realize that God has always been present in my young life. My big brother, 5 years my senior, went to boarding school when I was 7. He might be a priest when he grew up.
He came home 3 times a year: Christmas, Easter and Summer holidays. Every time, he brought home 2 special gifts. The Old and the New Testament. As I grew older ?and learned how to read, it was these two books that I was occupied with during vacations. I wanted to read in them as much as possible. I especially devoured the New Testament again and again. The man Jesus that was described there had my full attention, and I admired His lifestyle. This was how I wanted to live my life as well. And for a few years, I could do it pretty well. I went to a catholic school and had catechism. During the ‘fast’, I went to school every morning in rain or shine to be there at 7 and go to mas.

I was on my way to earn heaven!

It was in my brothers’ fifth year of boarding school that things went wrong. He never went back for his last year. I was thrilled that my big brother, my hero, was home. But my expectation to have an ally in my striving to live a devout life was dissapointed.

What had been done to him by a ‘man of +God’ was so painful that it was not possible to still believe in the goodness of a follower. I wasn’t driven anymore, either, and came into a time wherein God held me and knew me without me knowing Him.

I met my husband in the dance school where both of us followed dance lessons at 18. It was a school where we we worked hard and didn’t have a set partner but traded around constantly. ?Still, a fast friendship was quickly formed and soon we were a couple, both on and off the dance floor.

This was abruptly disturbed because my boyfriend’s father had to go abroad for his job. We talked about it and talked about it, off how we could get the better of this. We thought of the strangest scenarios of how I would travel along in a suitcase. I fit perfectly in the red checkered one, and it even had a breathing hole! One day, my boyfriend confidently went to his father and asked if I couldn’t come along to America as part of their family. After that, we asked my parents the same question. Could I go to another country? Very improbable, but I could! And two months later we were reunited in the faraway America!

I flew over with my bagage in the luggage hold, and sat in a chair quite comfortably. Not crammed into the ?red checkered suitcase after all. The future looked promising, and soon I was in the same house as my future husband.

Come back tomorrow for part two!