Everyone come into the living room, we have news!” I remember hearing these words at age 11 and having no clue what was to follow. My four younger brothers and I filled the sofas in our Indianapolis home awaiting the surprising news from our parents.

Faith

We learned that our life was about to turn upside down in a move—not local, and not even in-country, but 3,600 miles away—to small-town Northern Ireland. My father was being asked to consider a call as church history professor at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary (RPTS) in Pittsburgh, Pa., if he could get his PhD in three years at his alma mater, Queens University Belfast. After receiving his degree, and a successful interview by Synod, we would move back to the States, this time to Pennsylvania.

While I remember the boys screaming for joy at the prospect of stepping onto an airplane, I fought tears at the thought of all the closed doors this meant—losing friends, church, and all familiarity. Having been homeschooled, the educational transition would come easily; and, having traveled previously, the cultural exploration would be exciting as we adjusted to a different life. The door the Lord had opened was one we could never have predicted, and all we had was the faith that we were doing God’s will.

Friendship

“Hello, what’s your name?” I was met with these words hundreds of times over the four years of this experience. New friends, a new church, and new neighbors—they all warmly and selflessly invited the Whitla family into their lives. Our church in Northern Ireland, Trinity (Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim) RPC, had several weekly events we participated in—badminton night, youth group, and Sunday school. Youth weekend events and camps were scheduled over school breaks and holiday seasons. The Lord opened many doors for me to establish new friendships. The Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland’s organized events were exciting and faith-building times, which I benefited from so much. Of course, we knew that the more friendships we would make, the more we would have to leave behind. You don’t have to move around the world to feel lonely, and I learned how to make friends in Christ by seizing any and every opportunity for fellowship I could find.

Focus

“For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you” (Gen. 28:15). As my brothers and I involved ourselves in activities, we found ourselves adding new memories to the old ones. The family busied itself with the same routines of work, play, and occasional day trips, whether it was simply a Saturday trip to Downhill Beach or an evening hike through our local Ballyboley Forest. As much as we enjoyed these times, we knew that all this would be left behind before long. To remind us of our purpose, my parents gave us all bookmarks with Genesis 28:15, where God promises Jacob He will be with him and keep him wherever he goes. We memorized these words for moments when we forgot the point of our move. I learned that no matter how much change and transition can batter your faith, Scripture is always an anchor to which the Christian can cling.

Farewell

“Goodbye.” These words left my lips innumerable times over our last year in Northern Ireland. My parents had planned our move back to the States to be late enough in the summer of 2019 to have an entire month to say our farewells. One Saturday afternoon in late March (my dad’s birthday), my parents came into my bedroom and told me the devastating news that we would have to leave months sooner than anticipated, due to visa and immigration complications. God seemed to be waking us up to the fact that, while we could try to plan our own pilgrimage, He is the only one who ultimately knows which direction our lives will go.

After bittersweet farewells, we returned to the United States in the spring. That summer, which had taken such a surprising turn, became a great blessing, as we had more time to settle into another new life—new friends, a new church, and new neighbors. I learned that every ending has a new beginning and to welcome the closed doors as an opportunity to pursue an opened one.