I came downstairs about the time we were to leave, and Sue Rose said, “ya aren’t having any breakfast?!” Two days in a row now breakfast has been forced to me… haha. We left at about half 8 in the morning and booked it on foot for Waverly station. Train was not a bad price for there and back. Only 20 pounds for the whole deal.
As soon as we got on the train, Tim gets out a few decks of cards for us to play a game called “Hearts.” Let me tell you, that was so confusing! I still cant even properly explain it to you all. I get the concept, sort of, but I am absolutely retched at it.
It was pretty competitive and all I can say is that if you give me the queen of spades when playing…
You’re going down.
Finally after playing it for an hour on the train, I GET IT! But go figure, we had to get off and transfer platforms. By the time we got on our transfer, he wanted to play a new game called “up and down the river,” which I totally rocked at ps. It was quite good fun.
We got off the train and walked over to a supermarket called Sainsbury, which all the girls in Ireland absolutely loved when I was there. Good cheap deals! Found the new twilight movie for 7 pounds!!!
Anyway…
We met up with Gary and Hazel Brakes and they are the most wonderful people. They took us in and Hazel cooked us the most wonderful meal ever! So delicious with apple pie and everything!We talked a lot about the church of Scotland and how times are changing. Things need to become more modern because people just are not staying in the old traditional ways from back in the 1700s. there is that generation gap which we were discussing yesterday. They continued to tell us the story of how they came to Scotland—felt like God was just calling them there.
Needless to say, they basically just got up and moved. Not knowing anyone or even the slightest clue on what to do. Very brave if you ask me.
They decided to start up a church right out of their home and it now has grown into a 60 person church which is so cool. So inspiring and literally starting from nothing.
I went into the kitchen and started to chat with Hazel as she was getting the pie ready to be served. I asked her how she met Gary and when they got married. She said that they met when she was 29 years old but for the longest time she didn’t think she was going to ever get married. When she entered the church, she met a lady that told her that she was praying for her daughter’s husband, even though they had no idea who he was. Hazel explained and said, “I probably should be doing that too. I mean, I really want to find someone. I really am not interested in the dating part so much. I just want to find my husband and him to be my one and only.”
My heart seriously sunk. It is exactly where I am at. I mean, I don’t personally mind the whole dating deal, but Id like it to be in the potential of finding a husband. I knew the feelings that she had once felt.
For eight years she said she had prayed for a husband, but yet no one came. She said that at times she was depressed and lonely and was really frustrated. She said that all her friends were in relationships but she was the only one out.
Wow. Her and I were more alike than I thought. Then I asked, “what did you do?”
“I suddenly felt it on my heart that I should just be praying for a good friend. And that’s it,” Hazel remarked. Three months later, Gary showed up.
She went and talked on of how since she heard that she should be looking for a friend instead, that God probably didn’t want her to be with anyone. “So I got involved in every single ministry I could. I basically did it all because I was so convinced that God didn’t want me with anyone.”
Hazel said that Gary tried to ask her out many times, but she kept denying him for she did see him that way. But soon they became very good and close friends. And then they both realized, that they were meant to be together.
Amazing, right?
But here is the part that makes my heart melt. Before Gary came to the church, he needed to get right with God. God was working on him in the time that Hazel was praying for a husband; making sure that he was right and perfect for her. But in one of Hazel’s prayers, she prayed to God that if she were meant to be married, that if it were possible he would have blue eyes and curly hair.
In Gary’s teen years growing up and early 20s, he had perfectly straight hair. But a few years before he came to the church, his hair suddenly went curly. They got married within a few months later and he was her first boyfriend, first kiss and first love. He also has blue eyes!
This is where my heart was completely gone. Her story was so inspiring to me that all I could do was to tear up because I feel like I am in the same shoes she was so many years ago.
After dinner was done, Bryan and I took a “wee” walk down the country side rode and chatted and took in God’s beautiful creation—and got to see some cows haha. We walked back and packed up the car to leave. As I said my goodbyes, Hazel looked at me and said, “I will be praying for you that you find your one. He will come but only in God’s timing.” I shed a tear as I hugged her and climbed into the car to go back to the train station and onward to Glasgow for the night. We arrived back into Glasgow and started to walk around the town and explore it all—such a dark and gloomy town. So depressing it is. The spiritual darkness just lags over everything. You can feel it everywhere.
We got some amazing Italian food for cheap, took some pictures and headed back to hotel for the night. Bryan, Tim and I sat around for a bit just chatting until Tim got too tired haha. Bryan and I stayed up and talked for a bit and here I am now writing to all of you.
Going to meet church called Mosaic tomorrow.
Pray it all goes well!
Love until then xox
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