The Chance of a Lifetime

There is one place that I've always wanted to go since I was old enough to understand the historical and theological significance of this place. I never thought I would ever get the opportunity to go. It was a dream that seemed far from attainable. To go to Israel, to see where Jesus lived, walked, died and resurrected would be an amazing experience. I had this opportunity. Up til three days ago I was actually planning on going to Israel in January. My school requires all of their students to take a Mission Practicum which is a class where you meet for about 10 weeks and then go on a mission trip during the following school break. There are different trips offered and you can choose which trip you want to go on. Israel was one of those trips and I knew this going into the class. It was the whole reason I signed up for the class this semester. Last Friday (after going to my first class of Mission Practicum) I emailed the professor who is leading the Israel trip wanting more information about the trip. He didn't email me back until Monday saying he wanted me to call him or come by his office. I called him and he was with a student so I planned to call him the next opportunity I had or go by his office when I was on campus. Later that day I received another email from him saying that if I was going to Israel then not only would he need to know by tomorrrow (Tuesday) but that he would also need the $500 deposit. He said that the deposit date had, in fact, already passed but that if I could get him the money by Tuesday then he could probably squeak me in. I was shocked and appalled. The Mission Practicum class had just begun a week ago where I was given no information about any of the trips except the trip dates and estimated total for each. How could I have possibly known of any due dates or required deposits? I responded to the professor's email saying that I was unaware of any due dates and that there was no way that I could have the $500 deposit by tomorrow. He answered my email saying that he had contacted everyone who had showed interest in the trip so that they would be forewarned. He did not know of my interest and was truely sorry but that this was out of his control. How was I suppose to show interest? Was not registering for the class, trip, and the required EXTRA class not enough interest? Needless to say, I was angry and upset. Kyle too was perturbed since this was not my fault but the college's for failing to give out the necessary information. Despite my agitation, I was over it by Wednesday. I decided that, for whatever reason, I was just not suppose to go. But then today (Thursday), I received an email from registar that the deposit for the Israel trip was due today, tomorrow (Friday) at the latest. The email also said to contact the professor leading the trip as he would have all the information we needed. Man, did that make me angry all over again! I emailed the registar back and explained my prior experience (minus the anger). I ran into the lady from registar today at school and she apologized for the confusion saying that she too has been very confused about the details. She said that she kept being told different things and that there was just a lot of confusion. I was not angry with her, it wasn't her fault, but the administration at Criswell is aweful. Because of their inability to communicate efficiently, me and other students who were out of the loop, are now screwed. This once in a lifetime opportunity was taken away from me because of their mess ups. I may never get this opportunity again. Thankfully, I will be able to drop the extra class I had signed up for without being charged any fees and I will be able to choose another mission trip to go on. The chance to go to Israel is gone though. Maybe sometime in the future I will be able to go but I don't see that happening.

Now, onto another more happier subject. :) Last night I wasn't tired enough to sleep so Kyle left a light on so that I could read while he fell asleep. I enjoyed my reading but Kyle was a little distracting. He breathes so loudly when he sleeps and looks so content. I reached over to lightly stroke his face and began to cognitively cherish the moments I have with him. Whenever he's doing something else I like to look over at him and just cherish the fact that he's in my presence and that he's my husband. To have married Kyle - now THAT was the chance of a lifetime! I am so blessed that God chose me to be Kyle's wife. I never question that Kyle is a blessing, even when he throws away a half of stick of butter because we aren't going to use it tomorrow. (In reality, I probably would have used it tomorrow but he didn't bother to ask me. He just didn't want to go through the trouble of wrapping it back up and putting it in the fridge.) Yes, Kyle is a blessing. He keeps me laughing and makes me feel special. He completes me and I complete him; for the glory of God. I pray that I would never take the gift God has given me for granted. I spoke of going to Israel as a dream but my biggest dream has always been to marry and then one day have children. I did nothing to deserve this dream come true. To marry was not a right that I had, it was a privilege, a gift of grace. To be apart of something that God has ordain and put in place as a picture of His Gospel is an amazing thing. Just today I heard of a marriage that is falling apart and there looks like there will be no reconciliation. The end of a marriage is like a death of a person. And just like of a physical death, I grieve of this marital death. It is a sad thing, especially when there are children involved. I pray for my marriage, that God would be the center, and that He would hold all things together. Despite the disappointments of not going to Israel and the sorrow over a broken marriage, I thank God that He is sovereign and in control of all things. I trust in His knowledge and plan and not in my own ignorance. He is a good God and He has done good things for me.