This story begins with a young married couple in a small basement suite in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Matt and I had been living a quiet and simple life for the last year. Matt was attending college to become an aircraft maintenance engineer. I was working full-time as a dental receptionist to support him and pay the rent. We were enjoying this season of our lives and getting quite comfortable with our routine. Money was tight but our life was filled with love, joy, and peace. Every evening we were among friends playing board games, meeting for bible studies, and participating in the free social events at Church of the Rock. We could see the direction that our lives would take over the next few years. Matt would graduate and get a job in his trade. Then it would be his turn to support me as I finished my masters degree. When our careers were established we would start having children. This was the dream we were pursuing and I was excited for my future. There was just one problem. Late at night when my mind was quiet, there was a restlessness in my spirit and a whisper that said,
I have so much more to show you. Come and see.
There was a deep stirring in my heart that wanted to be sent out by God. A burning desire to take a great leap of faith and trust in the One who was sending me.
I want to see! I would pray. If you send me, I will go.
However, when I woke up in the morning there was no such calling to be “sent out”. There was no situation that required a great “leap of faith” that matched the magnitude being challenged in my heart. All was good and peaceful.
It must be my imagination, I thought.
So Matt and I remained in Winnipeg and focused on living a life of love and purpose. We grew in our relationship with God and with each other. We deepened our relationships with our parents and our in-laws. We opened our home to young adults and friends, teaching many how to read their bible and discern the voice of God. It was a beautiful season.
At night, I continued to have conversations with God. He would ask me difficult questions and challenge my faith. I started to dream about traveling by bicycle around the world, sharing the good news about Jesus, witnessing miracles, planting small churches, and encountering God in many radical ways. It was a crazy dream. So crazy and radical that it scared me. I couldn’t even bring myself to share these thoughts with my husband. If the dream wasn’t from God, then I would be placing a huge and unnecessary burden on Matt’s heart. On the flip side, if the dream actually was from God then I would be placing an even greater burden on his shoulders. I couldn’t ask Matt to follow such a difficult and challenging path. This dilemma put me at a complete standstill with God. I didn’t want to drop the issue, but at the same time I was too uncertain to act. In the end, I decided to leave the decision in God’s hands.
God, I’m not going anywhere or doing anything until I know for sure that this dream is from you. If you want to send us out on a world bike trip, then you’ll have to put the same dream on Matt’s heart. I won’t bring it up or influence him in any way. If you don’t act on behalf of this dream then neither will I.
It gave me so much peace to place our future in God’s hands. I was completely content with whatever decision the Lord made concerning our lives. Many weeks passed and God was completely silent concerning this issue. The nightly conversations with God had stopped and the visions of a world bike trip had faded away. I breathed a sigh of relief as the burden of such a task lifted off my heart. The dream was actually so far from my mind that I had almost forgotten about it. That is, until the day when God chose to act.
On a lazy Saturday in August 2016, Matt and I were hiding in our cool basement to escape the intense heat of the day. After spending the morning doing chores, we lay side by side on our freshly made bed, staring at the ceiling and enjoying the peace and quiet. After a long period of silence, I turned my head towards Matt to study his face. I could see that Matt was deep in thought. His brow was furrowed and his lips were tight. Finally he broke the long silence with a soft voice.
“Amy, there’s something I need to tell you. Over the last few of weeks I’ve had this consistent dream on my heart. I’ve been praying about it and I’ve even asked God to take the dream away, but it still persists.”
“What are you talking about?” I ask.
“I keep having this dream about another bike trip,” he says. “But this time it would be much, much further.”
I’m caught off guard by his words. My heart starts to beat quickly so I sit up to try and control my emotions. The memory of my last conversation with God comes rushing back. If you want us to go, then you’ll have to tell Matt yourself.
“How far?” I ask. But I already know his answer.
“Like, across the ocean kinda far.”
“Like, around the world.. kinda far?” I ask.
Matt confirms it with a great sigh. “Yeah, that kinda far.”
For a moment I seem to have lost my voice.
“Me too,” I manage to say.
Matt sits up and looks at me with surprise. Obviously, he was not expecting this to be my answer. I see his eyes searching my face for an expression of fear, shock, or anxiety. Yet he finds none of these emotions. Even I’m surprised by the incredible sense of peace that has rested on my heart. Matt meets my gaze and sees the peace and readiness in my eyes. This seems to satisfy him. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, letting his head fall back down onto the pillows. Then he opens his eyes to stare back at the ceiling.
“Wow,” he says with wonder. “What are the chances that we both have the same dream on our hearts?”
I have no answer to this question so I stay silent. As my heart fills with awe and wonder, my head spins with doubt. I slowly lay myself back down, wondering what this sign could possibly mean.
This was the first invitation and confirmation we received from God to begin this journey east around the world. It was the first sign but certainly not the last. After this experience I still doubted His call, so I asked for more confirmations. God met my request by providing another six signs and wonders. He made it very clear that He was, in fact, sending us out. God also promised us that He would provide us with everything we needed in order to accomplish this task. It was to be the journey of a lifetime, and it was soon to be called The Narrow Shoulder.
