WHERE DO I EVEN BEGIN?

::dad's phone makes a weird beep sound::
me: did you just take a video?
dad: no, i did something called 'pano...'

So, if you know anything about our lives, you know the last few months have been... interesting, to say the least. I'll try not to spend too much time recapping.

Last blog, I basically gave an entire account of all the craziness that was our lives here in Scotland. Lots of drama around Clay's degree (and I didn't even get to the drama with my visa and them taking away my legal right to work last year!). The last 3 months have had even more drama. Let's begin:

Clay submitted his MPhil thesis, and was told that, instead of getting marks back, he was going to Viva, which is what PhD students do when they defend their work in front of a board. A bit out of the ordinary, but I thought they were just doing it because his time at uni has already been so unconventional, and they were making exceptions to progress him to PhD, so why not? He read some books and then on the 11th of November, he spent a little less than an hour talking to the board, and then called me to say that he was told he wasn't progressing to PhD because the University changed their rules and weren't allowed to let him... and didn't tell us until now. And so began my week of crying every single day.

We spent the next few days in a complete blur. Why would they string us along for so long, telling Clay that he would get upgraded to PhD at the next step, no wait, the NEXT step, just wait a little longer, get to the NEXT step, just to flat out tell him no? Our visas were set to expire on the 26th of November (yet another University blunder) and we had exactly 15 days to figure out what we were going to do, or legit pack up and move back to the States.

Long story short (and I'll save you all the angry tears and stuff that I threw around the house in fits of rage), he got official word that his work was not sufficient enough to pass him onto PhD, we came to terms with it, and then St Andrews Baptist Church rescued us. They had an unused Tier 2 work visa that they offered to Clay which would keep us here for at least 3 more years, while Clay could get licensed with the Scottish Baptist Union. The only thing was... we had to apply for it from within the States.

December 6th - On the beach!!

Sooooo. Thanksgiving Day, we flew from Edinburgh to London and then London to Atlanta! We applied for visas and then waited and waited and waited, and were approved on the 21st of December. Luckily for me, my job is amazing and let me stay home until after Christmas (STILL GETTING PAID- WHAAAAAAAAAT). So we spent a month at home, went to NOLA, drove all over Atlanta, drove to Panama City Beach 3 different times and jumped in the Gulf of Mexico. It was glorious. We got the summer weather that we missed over the last year in Scotland and got to hug all my family and friends. It was really a much needed time to relax. We have essentially spent the last 2 years desperately trying to make a home and set down roots here with the University constantly telling us there was no hope, and it was just nice to be back in something familiar and settled for once.

This is certainly the more boring version of what has happened to us. Sometimes, it's crazy to me when I look back and see how difficult this whole process has been. How much we've struggled through the last few years. Several people have said to us, "Do you think maybe this is God's way of telling you __________" and then fill in the blank with anything. We shouldn't be in Scotland, Clay shouldn't be doing PhD, this isn't where God wants you to be, you're sinning and you need to get your heart right... I mean, really, the list goes on.  These are things people have actually said to us. But honestly, if God didn't want us to be here, HE'D TELL US. It's not like we got to Scotland and said, "Ok, God, thanks for getting us to this magical land of haggis and haar and old haunted castles, but we can do this on our own now." And really, where does the Bible say that if you're following God's leadership, your life is peaches? Where does it say "And Paul told people about Jesus and God made his life super easy, and he never had to leave his family and nobody ever said mean things to him and he didn't ever cry and had IHOP pancakes for breakfast every morning?" (That's clearly the Message translation). But really, why do people automatically assume that, because life is hard, something must be wrong?

This whole process has been a matter of trust. Clay jokingly says that God is purposefully making this difficult for us because my faith is so shaky... just to test me! I have to tell myself every day, no matter what, that God didn't call us here to fail, and he is working out the details. We are just here in obedience, and it just so happens that we love it, despite the cold and rain, despite the University and visa drama, despite the tight finances and the fact that stuff seems to be continually breaking. We are content.

This is what it looks like outside my house. Why would anyone ever leave Scotland??