Seeking Security

In exactly ONE MONTH from today, I will be arriving in London!  The approaching departure date brings plenty of stresses and joys, but unfortunately, the stress has been particularly overwhelming at this point.  I am confident that the Lord has a beautiful plan for my time there, but right now the most important part of my stay remains a mystery...my housing!

First and most importantly, I want to ask for your PRAYERS.  Pray that I will be able to either settle on student housing or find a safe flatshare (British-speak for apartment share).  Also pray that I don't have an emotional breakdown, because to be honest I'm pretty discouraged.  I have been searching for, Skyping, and calling potential landlords in London for more than a solid month, with the help of my wonderful friend in London, Mary Nell (THANK YOU!!!), but nothing has worked out yet.

As I said before, this brings both stress and joy.  If you know me at all, you know that I am a planner.  I love to know exactly when, where, and with whom I will be way in advance.  The fact that I don't know where I will be living in 4 weeks is definitely upsetting my perfectly-planned world!  Nothing stresses me out more than the unknown, but the way to bring peace to that stress is to focus on what is known.  I know that my Father has gone before me to prepare a place for me.  I need to trust that He has everything figured out, even though I don't!   I am secure in His plan for me.  On the other hand, joy comes from knowing that this has been a great exercise in subduing the natural control-freak in me, and I am thankful for the way my faith has grown through this challenge.

GOOD NEWS: my background checks cleared, my flights are booked, and my visa application is in progress!  Once I have my visa in-hand and my housing is booked, I will be completely finished with pre-departure planning.

Thank you for your prayers, sweet friends.  I'll keep you all posted!

Much love,
Hayley