Bits with the Belchers: Maggie's Big Trip

Toronto, Ontario. Maggie and I ventured up to Canada for 4 weeks for a LIFE/functional therapy program at Health in Motion. My mom stumbled upon this site probably a couple years ago but at the time the obstacles seemed insurmountable. We lived in Birmingham and Daniel couldn't take that much time from work. So, how could I go to Canada with two small children for 4 weeks? Or who would help Daniel watch Will if I left him there? I didn't think I could go 4 weeks without Daniel and that amount of time away from both of them seemed impossible. My thoughts were "I'd like to go but how could it really be any different from the therapy she's already receiving?" I went ahead and inquired about the program costs, which only put further doubt in my mind. So that's where I was- I marked it off as a possibility and not even sure it was necessary. Then I put it in the far recesses of my mind and didn't think about it again.

Until I did. One day, I was packing boxes for our move to Nashville and out of the blue, God just laid it on my heart and told me to go. God does that you know. Like when he told Joseph and Mary to escape to Egypt or when he told the disciples to follow him (not that my circumstances are comparable to these at all). I knew it was God because it's not something I would've thought on my own- I already cataloged it as not possible and forgot, remember? But his imprint stayed there. Unfortunately, I wasn't as obedient as Joseph and I still wondered, how? But I felt the wall break down a little as other things started to fall in place. I knew Daniel had more vacation time at his new job, but when I opened the discussion about this trip, he told me they have an office in Toronto where he may be able to work during the four weeks. That was it- I was moving forward. Daniel was skeptical but I knew it needed to be done and I didn't care about the rest because I knew it would fall into place. I actually spoke with Natan, the program director/creator on the phone to ease some of Daniel's concerns. And mine a little, to be honest. Even though I knew God was leading us here, it was still scary and I wanted Daniel to be on board with me. He wasn't fighting me on it, he just felt it was a large investment "into an unknown quantity." Basically we didn't know about the program's efficacy aside from the testimonials on their website. We agreed to go in May but missed a slot due to a mis-communication about logistics. I felt a little defeated at this point. Maybe it wasn't God, just something I wanted? The next open date was Sept 30th- Oct 25th. Will would start Kindergarten by then so we couldn't go as a family and who would help Daniel watch the boys while I was gone? God kept pressing and I finally gave in, sending our deposit in February.

Well what do you know? I found out a couple months later that Will had two weeks for fall break that was to fall right in the middle of the program. That's God. So, only two weeks apart, split into one week increments (which we've done many times before). We began telling people and though we didn't have a whole lot of info. about the program, I was at peace with it; I'm a details person so not caring about holes in the plan is definitely unique for me. God . I searched for places to stay for months with no luck, but didn't stress because I felt at peace. God. I was unsure about how we would pay for it, especially when Daniel's 15 year old car will eventually need replacing, but I was at peace. God. Daniel was actually stressing more than me, which is uncharacteristic of us- I'm usually the worrier- another reason I knew it was the Spirit within me. I got confirmation about our apartment less than a month before our departure and it was in walking distance to the clinic. God. My mom got off work that first week so I had help with Jake making things easier. This means I would only spend the last week alone and would be acquainted with the area by then. God. I also found it no coincidence that the acronym for Health in Motion is HIM.

I had so much peace about this decision. Very few times in my life have I been so certain about a road God wanted me to take. but with this I was and didn't even know why. Until I got there. By the end of day one I wondered why I didn't come the first time and wished I had.

The Drive
My mom, Maggie, Jake and I left Saturday, September 28th around noon; I wanted to leave after Will's soccer game. The start of the drive went really well but after we stopped for dinner and gas things slowed down a bit. We made it outside Cincinatti, Ohio but not quite to Toledo, where I really wanted to stop. But Jake was really done with the car and Maggie was getting restless too. We stopped for dinner then set up in a hotel for the night.

We got a later start on Sunday than I expected but it was slow going, what can ya do? We got on the road a little after 9am and pulled into Canada right around noon, after a restroom break and our last fill up stateside- gas is pricey in Canada, so I wanted to purchase as little of that as possible. The wait for customs wasn't terrible but couldn't be better as well; we made it a short way before stopping for lunch. Once we got closer to Toronto, the traffic slowed down considerably so we didn't reach our destination until about 5:30pm on Sunday. We unloaded, got settled and attempted a grocery trip but it was dark, raining and on-star failed to locate the store right down the street, instead sending us to what looked like a convenience store that was closed. We just grabbed dinner and went back to the apartment to settle in for the night.