July 02, 2020

Extraordinary Directions, Extraordinary Peace by Marcia Lee Laycock


My husband and I, Dawson City Yukon, 1978

As I made our bed, the one my husband had constructed that week as a temporary place for us to lay our heads as we finished our eight-sided log home, I wondered how long we would live there. The still small voice that responded, “six years,” made my hands stop their tucking and smoothing. I did not recognize the voice of God at that moment, but for some reason I believed it. I peered out the window at the hayfield and hills around it and listened to the gurgling Klondike River that ran just beyond our door. Six years. Well. I purposed in my heart to enjoy every day of that time.

It was six years later when my husband came home after a hunting trip with our pastor. He was laughing as he came in the door and when I asked him why he shook his head and said. “Oh, that crazy Pastor Jack Sailor! He just told me he thinks I’m going to be a pastor someday.” I smiled. I knew it was true and I knew God was about to cause our world to turn upside down, once again.

But I had complete peace. God didn’t reveal all the details of what was about to happen, and it’s a good thing He didn’t or I likely would have tried to run, but I knew, as each step unfolded, that we had been called to go in an extraordinary direction by an extraordinary God.

We had only been believers in Christ for about two years. Our lives had already been turned upside down, the changes obvious to all. Now the road was narrowing even more, and the challenges just kept on coming as we made the decision to go to Bible College.

We had to come to terms with selling the house we had built with our own hands, giving it to God, not as a precious sacrifice on our part, but as something He had given us for a time and was now taking back so that He could give us something much more valuable– a life lived in service to Him.

We had only just gotten our heads and hearts around that hurdle when things started going awry. We bought an old station wagon and a tent trailer to make the 3,222 km. trip south with two young children and an aging husky dog, but shortly after we bought it the motor died. A wonderful mechanic friend came to our rescue, helped us find another motor, and installed it for us for free. 

We had thought the house and property were sold but that fell through at the last minute. The new butcher in town asked if he could rent it, so we agreed, with a handshake but no lease signed. He backed out just after we’d mailed all our belongings away. Then a man who’d just had an amazing conversion to Christ told us he’d dreamed about living in our house and believed God wanted him to buy it – two days before we had to leave. Those are just a few of the details that should have shaken my world. 

But I had extraordinary peace. 

God had told me we’d live in that home for six years and it came to pass. He made it clear to us that He wanted us to go to a Bible college in Saskatchewan and even though my husband resisted that idea at first, I knew it would come to be. Things began to fall apart in many ways, but I just kept on packing.

That was thirty-five years ago, almost to the day. It has been an extraordinary path He set our feet, and our minds and hearts on, way back then. It hasn’t all been easy, by any means, but it has been a life I would not change for all the gold and silver in the world. His blessings have abounded, His grace evident at every turn and His mercy enough to send us to our knees over and over again, as He continued to teach us and grow us into His disciples. Flawed though we are, He continues that work.

Extraordinary directions. Extraordinary peace. Extraordinary God.

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Read more at www.marcialeelaycock.com

19 comments:

  1. From the rocky north to the flat prairies would have been a vast change in landscape too! Your husband's laugh regarding the your pastor's remarks reminds me of how Sarah laughed when told she'd be with child. Extraordinary events indeed, our His ways!

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    1. Yes, indeed, Lynn. I didn't expect to have culture shock in my own country but I did!

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  2. Thanks for sharing this Marcia. What a journey God has led you on. What a fantastic reminder of the extraordinary God we serve.

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  3. How interesting. You'll have to tell us more about your time in Dawson City. As for me, moving to this dying hamlet was the best move I ever made. I hope I can stay here the rest of my life.

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    1. It's interesting where God puts us and where our roots begin to grow deep. :)

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  4. I loved this post, Marcia. What an amazing story! God is so faithful! It also reminds me a lot of some of my own adventures with God and makes me nostalgic for the Yukon.

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    1. I hear you, Tracy! I have pics up in my office that make me do that frequently. :) I was supposed to go to Dawson in June, but Covid ... :(

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  5. What a beautiful testimony of God’s leading and grace! Thank you for sharing!

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  6. What an encouraging and amazing story to remind us that God takes care of us!

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    1. Because we have an encouraging and amazing God. :)

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  7. Thanks for sharing your story of how God led you thorough all these years, Marcia! God is an amazing God who gives us, "Extraordinary directions. Extraordinary peace." He is our "Extraordinary God."

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  8. The line, ‘his grace evident at every turn’ stood out. Marcia, you (both) certainly faced a lot of hardships early on, but you stuck it out, trusting God. I hope your story will encourage many.

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  9. Thanks for sharing your story in writing, Marcia. Sometimes it’s good to look back and remember the path we’ve followed and who was leading us along that path. May God continue to bless and guide you and your husband in your ministry.

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  10. Thank you for sharing, Marcia. You remind that hearing God's voice in the early years of faith may be easier but less certain, and in our later years more difficult but most reassuring. God is faithful to direct us.

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  11. Thanks, Marcia. A wonderful journey with the Lord. Can’t wait to see where else He leads. I noticed your ‘but Covid’ comment and can hardly wait for ‘Suddenly God’. Two questions: What Bible College in Saskatchewan and is your husband still a Leafs fan? Go Leafs! I was baptized in my Leafs jersey as I equated being a fan as a true act of faith.😉

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