Andy has wanted to be an Oral-Maxiofacial Surgeon for as long as I have known him. There was a time he wanted to go into the Marines but thankfully once he started dating me he was awesome enough to decide he didn't want me to live that life. Because that's the kind of person he is- he puts everyone before himself, but that's a whole other blog and not the reason for this one.
So anyway, Andy went to England for a year to Capernwray Hall Christian Bible school {which I was super jealous of because it looked like Hogwarts}. He met some wonderful friends and had a great time, but he also got serious about his dream. During this time we started talking {online because he couldn't use a phone}. When he returned he was gung-ho for starting dental school {and dating me}.
And thus our journey began. We decided to get married before he started dental school so we could take on this adventure together. And let's be honest after he got Rhabdomyolysis in California and was hospitalized while I was stuck in Alabama, I was not letting him leave Alabama without me again.
We are learning to live day by day and just be happy. I love being happy. We love being married and we wouldn't trade it for anything. We love living in the desert and just being together. And yes, our future is unknown to us but today is great.
The reason for this blog is to walk you through our journey with us. I want you to see how we not only survived this journey, but enjoyed it. This is going to be set up a bit like a journal, so bare with me {or don't and just wait until the next one; it will be all pictures}.
March 26, 2016
Right now we are on a bit of a half step, if you will. We are in Phoenix, Az {and I have to say I love it here}. Andy is in a masters program called Biomedical Sciences {sounds fancy, it is}. The reason for this program is to help him get his foot in the door for dental school.
Most people do not understand how difficult it is to get into dental or medical school. It's tough. That person has to want more than ever. Yes, some people get in right out of college- awesome- for real-that's great. But most people have to fight for it. We are in the most people category. It can takes years of applying before one receives that long awaited acceptance letter. It's really frustrating when people ask us why we don't just give up and "do something else". The answer is because this is what he wants to do, it's his dream- and that's enough for me.
Andy is fighting for this harder than anything. We know God has a plan and we are trying desperately to trust that plan, it gets hard, trusting. But we have seen God work in amazing ways. One, He opened the door to this masters program. So let's start there-
Andy applied to masters programs all over the country {Oh, how I hoped Boston and Chicago would not let us in, my wish was granted}. We found out Andy was on the waiting list for the school in Phoenix. God's timing is always perfect. Two weeks before orientation we found out he got in! I was cheering and crying all at the same time. We frantically packed and moved across the country.
Today this program is almost coming to an end {I can't believe it's almost been a year}. Dental school starts this August. We are desperately praying God will open a door. Andy is doing his part- everything he can do. And we are waiting. He is on a waiting list for an interview. We know from previous times that God's timing is always perfect.
Our marriage is so much stronger because of this step. We are all we have and we hold on tightly to each other during all circumstances. This journey is a roller coaster- full of ups and downs and we have learned to be thankful in all circumstances and love each other through it all. My best friend once told me during tough times, when you're mad or frustrated, choose love. Just decide to love- instead of whatever else you had planned. This has helped me, and our marriage during the ups and downs. Andy is just a kind person so he doesn't have to choose love as much as I do.
We hear all the time if God shuts a door then it is for a reason, we should turn and go a different direction. Yes, I believe that is true. But, I also believe God will give us our requests- if they are pleasing to Him and we are seeking His will. So we just keep asking. And asking. And asking. And we are thankful through it all, every trial, every let down, every roller coaster dip, has brought us closer to each other and closer to God. Learning to be thankful through it all has helped me to enjoy God's presence and peace. And God is so sweet to sprinkle joy into our lives through it all.
May 1, 2016
We have been attending New Life Community Church. Today the sermon was "Why Pray". The parable of the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8). In this story, Jesus is trying to teach us to never give up on prayer. But the part that stood out to us was the last verse, "I tell you that they will get justice, and quickly". God will answer our prayers, and quickly. The even larger take home note for us was that God's definition of "quickly" and our definition of "quickly" may not be the same thing. I like to put God in a box and expect Him to work in ways I understand, but that's not the God we serve. He works in such big ways that I can never fathom or even slightly comprehend His plan. And that's where the faith part fits into the story.
"If we claim to trust God then we must trust His timing."
Wow. If this didn't speak right to us, nothing will. Andy and I will never be able to see the whole picture. And that's okay, if we can learn to truly trust God AND His timing. We are really working on this, and it's not easy. But we are continuing to persistently pray for Andy to get into dental school and then trust His timing. Because we KNOW He does answer prayers, in His timing. And we also know His timing will always be perfect, unlike ours. So if dental school is not in God's plan for this year we will be at peace, knowing nothing is accidental, it's all in God's time. And we will move on and focus on next year.
Andy has 3 weeks left in his last quarter of the masters program. We have been told by admissions that they will look at him again after grades have been released. So we're still waiting, trusting God's will and timing.
May 20, 2016
Andy finished his Masters in Biomedical Sciences this week. We went to a nice graduation banquet and had a great time celebrating the end of a great and hard year.
He showed improvement every quarter through the year and proved he will finish and succeed in anything he starts. We are still praying God will open a door but we are also praying that God will give us peace with whatever happens.
The last three days we have both been so at peace. We think it odd how completely unstressed and at ease we both are, but we both still have some hope something will open up.
May 24, 2016
We are leaving to go home for a few weeks to see our families. We are sitting at the airport with our pup and what a great time for God to answer our prayers! Andy got a call from the Dean of Admissions, Andy has been accepted into the School of Dental Medicine at Midwestern University and starts in August (THIS August)!! A spot opened up for him. I don't believe this is a coincidence, I know this is God. Yesterday the class was full, today there is one opening and Andy is filling it.
We could not be more thankful for this answered prayer. God's timing is ALWAYS perfect and HE opened this door for us. There is NO other explanation other than God answering our prayers and planning this course for us; and Andy following through on his end and working his tail off! We are both speechless and so grateful.
We will officially be living in Arizona for the next four years chasing Step 1 of Andy's dream! To all our prayer warriors: please continue praying for us. We know challenges, tests, and struggles will continue. But we also know God is with us, and will take care of us. We have learned a lot through this baby step and we are excited for what God has in-store for us to learn and experience in the years to come.
I hope this blog is an encouragement to everyone fighting your own battles. Just know you don't have to fight alone, God will fight with you and for you. Thank you to the many people praying us through the start of this journey; this is just the beginning.
So anyway, Andy went to England for a year to Capernwray Hall Christian Bible school {which I was super jealous of because it looked like Hogwarts}. He met some wonderful friends and had a great time, but he also got serious about his dream. During this time we started talking {online because he couldn't use a phone}. When he returned he was gung-ho for starting dental school {and dating me}.
And thus our journey began. We decided to get married before he started dental school so we could take on this adventure together. And let's be honest after he got Rhabdomyolysis in California and was hospitalized while I was stuck in Alabama, I was not letting him leave Alabama without me again.
We are learning to live day by day and just be happy. I love being happy. We love being married and we wouldn't trade it for anything. We love living in the desert and just being together. And yes, our future is unknown to us but today is great.
The reason for this blog is to walk you through our journey with us. I want you to see how we not only survived this journey, but enjoyed it. This is going to be set up a bit like a journal, so bare with me {or don't and just wait until the next one; it will be all pictures}.
March 26, 2016
Right now we are on a bit of a half step, if you will. We are in Phoenix, Az {and I have to say I love it here}. Andy is in a masters program called Biomedical Sciences {sounds fancy, it is}. The reason for this program is to help him get his foot in the door for dental school.
Most people do not understand how difficult it is to get into dental or medical school. It's tough. That person has to want more than ever. Yes, some people get in right out of college- awesome- for real-that's great. But most people have to fight for it. We are in the most people category. It can takes years of applying before one receives that long awaited acceptance letter. It's really frustrating when people ask us why we don't just give up and "do something else". The answer is because this is what he wants to do, it's his dream- and that's enough for me.
Andy is fighting for this harder than anything. We know God has a plan and we are trying desperately to trust that plan, it gets hard, trusting. But we have seen God work in amazing ways. One, He opened the door to this masters program. So let's start there-
Andy applied to masters programs all over the country {Oh, how I hoped Boston and Chicago would not let us in, my wish was granted}. We found out Andy was on the waiting list for the school in Phoenix. God's timing is always perfect. Two weeks before orientation we found out he got in! I was cheering and crying all at the same time. We frantically packed and moved across the country.
Today this program is almost coming to an end {I can't believe it's almost been a year}. Dental school starts this August. We are desperately praying God will open a door. Andy is doing his part- everything he can do. And we are waiting. He is on a waiting list for an interview. We know from previous times that God's timing is always perfect.
Our marriage is so much stronger because of this step. We are all we have and we hold on tightly to each other during all circumstances. This journey is a roller coaster- full of ups and downs and we have learned to be thankful in all circumstances and love each other through it all. My best friend once told me during tough times, when you're mad or frustrated, choose love. Just decide to love- instead of whatever else you had planned. This has helped me, and our marriage during the ups and downs. Andy is just a kind person so he doesn't have to choose love as much as I do.
We hear all the time if God shuts a door then it is for a reason, we should turn and go a different direction. Yes, I believe that is true. But, I also believe God will give us our requests- if they are pleasing to Him and we are seeking His will. So we just keep asking. And asking. And asking. And we are thankful through it all, every trial, every let down, every roller coaster dip, has brought us closer to each other and closer to God. Learning to be thankful through it all has helped me to enjoy God's presence and peace. And God is so sweet to sprinkle joy into our lives through it all.
May 1, 2016
We have been attending New Life Community Church. Today the sermon was "Why Pray". The parable of the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8). In this story, Jesus is trying to teach us to never give up on prayer. But the part that stood out to us was the last verse, "I tell you that they will get justice, and quickly". God will answer our prayers, and quickly. The even larger take home note for us was that God's definition of "quickly" and our definition of "quickly" may not be the same thing. I like to put God in a box and expect Him to work in ways I understand, but that's not the God we serve. He works in such big ways that I can never fathom or even slightly comprehend His plan. And that's where the faith part fits into the story.
"If we claim to trust God then we must trust His timing."
Wow. If this didn't speak right to us, nothing will. Andy and I will never be able to see the whole picture. And that's okay, if we can learn to truly trust God AND His timing. We are really working on this, and it's not easy. But we are continuing to persistently pray for Andy to get into dental school and then trust His timing. Because we KNOW He does answer prayers, in His timing. And we also know His timing will always be perfect, unlike ours. So if dental school is not in God's plan for this year we will be at peace, knowing nothing is accidental, it's all in God's time. And we will move on and focus on next year.
Andy has 3 weeks left in his last quarter of the masters program. We have been told by admissions that they will look at him again after grades have been released. So we're still waiting, trusting God's will and timing.
May 20, 2016
Andy finished his Masters in Biomedical Sciences this week. We went to a nice graduation banquet and had a great time celebrating the end of a great and hard year.
He showed improvement every quarter through the year and proved he will finish and succeed in anything he starts. We are still praying God will open a door but we are also praying that God will give us peace with whatever happens.
The last three days we have both been so at peace. We think it odd how completely unstressed and at ease we both are, but we both still have some hope something will open up.
May 24, 2016
We are leaving to go home for a few weeks to see our families. We are sitting at the airport with our pup and what a great time for God to answer our prayers! Andy got a call from the Dean of Admissions, Andy has been accepted into the School of Dental Medicine at Midwestern University and starts in August (THIS August)!! A spot opened up for him. I don't believe this is a coincidence, I know this is God. Yesterday the class was full, today there is one opening and Andy is filling it.
We could not be more thankful for this answered prayer. God's timing is ALWAYS perfect and HE opened this door for us. There is NO other explanation other than God answering our prayers and planning this course for us; and Andy following through on his end and working his tail off! We are both speechless and so grateful.
We will officially be living in Arizona for the next four years chasing Step 1 of Andy's dream! To all our prayer warriors: please continue praying for us. We know challenges, tests, and struggles will continue. But we also know God is with us, and will take care of us. We have learned a lot through this baby step and we are excited for what God has in-store for us to learn and experience in the years to come.
I hope this blog is an encouragement to everyone fighting your own battles. Just know you don't have to fight alone, God will fight with you and for you. Thank you to the many people praying us through the start of this journey; this is just the beginning.
Thank you for reading!! Have a great week everyone!
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