Visiting New Orleans

Reposted from May 2012. We are celebrating a three year journey at seminary that is coming to an end this weekend. We are so thankful for God's grace throughout our time in New Orleans and at NOBTS. It has been infinitely better than we could have asked or imagined! 

As I alluded to in an earlier post, there was really nothing in me (or Andrew) to ever want to go back to New Orleans. Not for a visit. Not for a vacation. Not even for a football game. We had both been before on short visits and Andrew had spent an unsuccessful tenure at the seminary back in 2008. I say this to drive home the point that the fact that it even came up in conversation (and in a positive way) was an act of God.  

I distinctly remember how timid Andrew was even mentioning the idea to me. He even told me that he almost didn’t say anything about it at all for fear I might not react very well. Not me. I’m sure he didn’t know that his mention of going back to NOLA was the fringe of a conversation that would change everything. 

After we got it all out in the open we both realized that God had already brought a measure of healing to our hearts simply through talking. What’s more, we were both experiencing an unusual excitement for a city that the thought of at one time, made me nauseous. If that isn’t Jesus, I don’t know what is. 

We were left with a weird foggy vision of something God was starting in our lives and a big “what now?” We decided the next logical step was to plan a visit. Andrew wanted to go as soon as possible but we were at the start of a 6 week long whirlwind of busy weekends so we had to wait. I was glad for that because I think it gave us time to come out of the rush of excitement that comes with doing something extreme. It gave us some time to think, plan, reason, and break the news to our families… who mercifully gave us their approval. 

The weekend finally came. I could go into ardent detail of every moment. I could honestly devote an entire post to the food alone. But I won’t, for now. I’ll just sum the weekend up with a few words. 

Joyful. Intriguing. Exciting. Adventurous. Providential. Prayerful. Peaceful. Assured.

And with that, our decision was an easy one.