A Gal Named Norma…borrowing faith (Part 2)

Continued from previous post…..

Norma was special from the beginning.

She had a kind face, a humble spirit, and a generous soul.

One of those people that instantly means something to you…and although you couldn’t explain why…you know.

We, by now, had exhausted our resources and hope that I would be allowed back onto the island. It had been made clear that commercial flights would likely NOT resume anytime soon.

Hmmmm…

One day while driving home, Scott heard a message on the radio about faith.

The speaker made a statement that immediately connected to our situation.

He said “If an opportunity has opened for you and God intends you to go, He will also provide a way for you to get there.”

This message arrived at the perfect time. ❤

Scott had been offered a new position on The Mainland, and we had been wondering in desperation how it would be possible to report to a new station when the borders remained closed??

This led to days and days of cyber-tele-packing-sorting sessions while he sifted through our belongings and I made “yes and no* declarations on what he should pack, leave, and throw away.

I don’t really know if I can accurately convey how mammoth a task it is to pack up an entire life/household from 7,000 miles away in different time zones over sketchy cell signal while describing and sharing photographs of random items?

Sentimental pieces of the life we had built over a quarter century together.

Pieces of ourselves and our children that had already traveled cross-country, cross-ocean and now cross-hemisphere!

Items that seemed ordinary to anyone else who saw them, but held the weight of memories immeasurable.

Personal things.

These packing sessions were the only communications I could really handle. And even those were stifled by my despair.

Why?

Because I wasn’t there.

This was something that we began together….and I wanted to be there at the close.

But ultimately….because even though we needed to prepare to make the move, there was that tiny, HUGE problem….

Still no flights…

No way on or off the island….

Yet he packed….

Then……

One day Scott called with information about a flight that had very limited seating.

Aaaah, a ray of hope and possibility felt so wonderful!

With our household belongings piled high in one room of our island home, he spent the next few days seeking out the proper channels to have his name added to the list of possible travelers

…and we waited.

Dear reader I cannot even begin to relay what relief it was to know that something was now in motion to bring him back to the USA.

It was amazing.

Together again after 4 months of separation and uncertainty. ❤

But as often happens during our most trying times, it would not be so easy…..

Can we all take a moment and cut ourselves some slack and give these struggles their proper acknowledgement?

It. Is. Hard, my Lovely Readers.

If we are not careful, we fall into the trap of distrusting good news. Always diverting to pessimism because we can almost feel that it can’t be that easy, bad is sure to follow.

This is exactly where I was….and with good cause.

The cyber messages began flying back and forth between Scott & I. Good news, bad news, fast decisions, slow downs.

Open doors…..crammed full of obstacles.

Well. This took its toll.

A day when I was at my lowest, I met Norma by chance.

The names of the passengers for the restricted flight had been released and Scott’s name was not on it.

The final message I received from him that day had been

“There is no hope of my return, but for God.”

I found myself telling my story to Norma….a stranger.

Not unlike Bill from last year’s story, she was like a stranger that I had known forever.

I was broken.

I was angry.

I was hollow.

Norma gave me permission to be low.

She told me it was okay for my faith to falter, dwindle and fade.

She encouraged me to cry in a corner if that’s what I needed.

But she, oh wise woman, gave me that advice with a stern caveat.

(And a shaking of her finger!)

When I felt those emotions coming and things were too hard to bear…I was allowed exactly one hour to fall apart, lose hope and give in.

So wise, but so hard.

After a bit more conversation, I shared the difficulties with this upcoming flight and Scott being turned away.

She listened.

And then….. I just let my guard down, my eyes couldn’t hold the tears back any longer, I couldn’t even get through the sentences coherently. I bumbled through, gasped for breath and finally just blurted out…

“Can you just pray for us?”

Norma smiled.

She stood up straight.

Something shifted.

She spoke the first set of six words that changed everything.

“I have a group of ladies.”

Each of these words by themselves are ordinary words in the English language. Elementary words that most of us added to our vocabulary long ago.

But you gals KNOW……Something magical happens when you put these words together in this sentence. And I knew exactly what that phrase meant!

A group of ladies is so much more than it seems. We know so well that it might have been just as accurate for her to say…… I have a group of lions.

A group of ladies.

A group of warriors.

For less than a brief moment….our surroundings blurred, sound stopped & the Earth seemed to still it’s motion.

With the authority of a lion, and the gentleness of a lamb, Norma spoke these next six words….

“He will be on that plane.”

It was Divine.

There is no mistaking what happened.

God happened.

For a small, insignificant pair of people in a desperate situation He stepped in and spoke faith into my pain.

Wow.

My daughter was with me during this encounter and heard the words Norma spoke.

We both heard the same silence and felt the same phenomenon.

I remember very little after that moment. I know we must have wrapped up the conversation and headed back to her apartment, but I don’t recall how or when.

I went to bed that night cradled in the crook of Norma’s faith.

Borrowed faith.

Faith that I just couldn’t muster in the moment of despair.

But she scooped me up, let me lean heavy on her years of wisdom and turned me back toward hope.

She stood in the gap for me. Between me and my destructive despair.

I woke refreshed, but still uncertain.

Because of the 6 hour time difference, I often missed any news of the last half of Scott’s day and used the mornings to catch up on any messages that he sent during my night hours.

A message….(directly under his previous message hours earlier stating that there was no way, but for God)

What a feeling to see that the passenger list had been updated and his name was among those listed!!

While I slept. Ladies worked.

While I rested. Prayer worked.

While I surrendered. God worked.

A way was made. A prayer was answered. And we were to soon be reunited.

Scott landed on U.S. soil on July 17th, 2020. The first leg in the final journey of our year long adventure in a remote location.

This last chapter was full of struggling emotion, and seemingly impossible odds.

BUT WHAT A RIDE!

I pray that when next you are faced with a feeling of despair you find someone to lean on who will let you borrow their faith for a moment.

Someone who gives freely their wisdom and raises your name up to the throne room of heaven in a plea for your plight.

Be blessed, Dear Reader, as life turns page after page in our story while we walk forward (and at times stumble!) through this beautiful adventure together.

Thank you to everyone who prayed, messaged and offered encouragement in so many ways during our adventure in the South Pacific.

Every word meant so much to us! It was by far the best decision we could have made and we are so grateful for the experience.

American Samoa is such a lovely place with many beautiful people who welcomed us as family and treated us with immeasurable kindness ❤

I hope we live the rest of our lives worthy of the blessings that we were given during our time there and we are excited for what the future holds. 🌏✈

…Next stop!

Tuscaloosa, Alabama what new stories will your city reveal?

…well we have been here for less than 2 weeks and our days have already been full of endless discovery!

Can’t wait to share!!