Tori Wyllie is a dear friend who we met during our brief stay in England in the fall of 2014. She is the one who introduced us to Guinness Cake, the one who shared with us the recipe, and the one I think of every time I make it, which tends to be Andrew's birthday and St. Patrick's Day.
Since we gave up (or put on hold...who knows what the future will bring?) our dream to move to England and serve with Operation Mobilisation, life has settled into somewhat of a routine. We've recently passed the one year anniversary of moving into our new house. I've been in my role at Cancer and Hematology Centers for over a year now. Andrew continues with contracting work for web development. Life seems to have a consistent rhythm, and in many ways it's so very good.
But when I bake Tori's Chocolate Guinness Cake, it reminds me of Tori. Thinking about Tori makes me think of Carlisle, the young adults group, the Inghams who hosted Andrew before my arrival, and the Doubs who graciously hosted both of us as well as so many others we met and befriended. It makes me think of weekends away with Andrew to different areas in England, Wales, and Scotland, and of life in a different world. And that leads me down a path of wondering "what if we continued pursuing it?" Would we have made it over there? Would I have found a nursing job in Carlisle? What would like look like now if we'd taken that path where the road forked?
Ultimately, we'll never know the answers to these questions. We're happy here in our home and in our jobs. We like living in Grand Rapids and being involved in our church here. And so here we'll stay for now, but we may still dream of what might have been, and when we do, we'll pray for those we met and remember fondly the times we had in the short few months when we called Carlisle our home.
And we'll also enjoy a delicious slice of Tori's Chocolate Guinness Cake.
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