Avizandam In Scots law, this term describes the careful consideration given by the judge before an important decision. Join me each week as we explore various topics from a spiritual perspective and take matters. Avise endum Well, welcome once again to Avazandam. Goody and I are telling our story. Hope you don't find it.
boring and uh this is the third episode. We discussed how we met. when Gootney came on the missions trip to Scotland, how we fell in love. How we got married in the Faroe Islands, uh, moved to Scotland as we got married. where I was practicing law.
Then uh my father died. And We moved to the capital of Scotland, Edinburgh. And I became a criminal. prosecutor there.
So that was very different to Goody, what was your, how did you enjoy? Edinburgh. And I hope that you enjoyed me. married to a prosecutor. I know you just love me cross examining her.
Yeah. Uh I loved Edinburgh and uh quickly got used to this big historical city compared to uh the Shetland Islands. And um yeah, it was different in that uh at that time we only had one car.
So if I needed a car to go Grocery shopping, et cetera, John would take the bus into the city. and so that I could go and run some errands. Um We were involved in a small church, which was very good, made friends there, and started having people in for dinner, which we all have a lot to do. And um to have a prosecutor, it was similar to uh having a lawyer, so it didn't make much difference to me in that. But I felt when I didn't have a car during the day that there wasn't much I could do except being a housewife, which I have obviously loved to do.
Well, I really enjoyed being a criminal prosecutor in Scotland, we prosecute in the name of, at that time, it was Her Majesty. Uh Queen Elizabeth II, when I was uh in the law courts in Edinburgh. A lot going on, great experience for me. And then one day I came home. and said to Goodney that A friend of mine who was an attorney in Uh Berdin uh was asking me if I would join uh their firm.
So that would involve another move to Albertine Goodey, what did you think about that? Here you were. We'd moved he'd moved from the Faroe Islands to Shetland. to Edinburgh and now possibly to Aberdeen. Obviously, I didn't know what to think because we had never been there except visiting friends.
So uh but Moving has never been easy, but When you have made the decision to move, then it's go, go, go. And so it was exciting. And there were probably bigger churches in Aberdeen than there were in Edinburgh.
So we knew some friends, so we knew where we were going to go to church when we moved there. But I enjoyed Aberdeen as well. similar city in that all the houses are made of granite, so they are all gray. And but I was slowly getting used to these grey homes, but beautiful inside. But Yeah, it was good.
often feel when we are moving that we leave good friends behind and we try to stay in touch with them. And the same was here.
So we now had left two places in a very short amount of time. I think within two and a half years, this was our third move. Yeah, we're moving a lot. I believe we're following what the Lord had for us. Interesting how he got the offer to go to Um Joined a partnership in Aberdeen.
When I came to Christ, I did so at a Christian Youth Camp. I was 12 years old. And at that time, there was a boy of my same age. And we kept in touch. In those days they were called pen pals.
Remember Novo. emails or anything like that.
So we're handwritten letters. And we kept in touch and independently. We both had studied law. My friend had studied it at Aberdeen University. I studied at Edinburgh University.
And he was a practicing attorney. in Aberdeen. They had set up a relatively new firm and wanted me to join them primarily to do court work. litigation and so After discussing with Goodney, visiting them, Uh we moved to Aberdeen where I went into private practice. As Kidney said, a lot of churches in Aberdeen.
We got established in one, served in one. I taught a Bible study for high school and college students served as a Deacon and enjoyed very uh enjoyed life very much. The firm did very well. I had great partners. Great assistance.
Life was very good. Financially, we were doing very, very well, had good work. as an attorney. And so uh here it was in my Uh Twenties, mid to late twenties. Late 20s, I guess.
and uh making more money than I thought was. possible, per perhaps not in American terms. But uh we were living very well. And we bought a house, Goodney, and then We moved to another house. Tell us about that and where it was situated.
in uh the countryside. Yeah, we bought a house out in what's called Deeside, and it was. a bit further than our previous home from the office that John worked at in in The downtown area of Aberdeen. It was lovely. I mean, it's this side is famous.
It's about our home was about 10 miles from Bankery and the and the Royal uh Balmoral Castle, where The queen and the royal household would summer every year for about two months.
So it was a beautiful area to go and visit, to drive. And there was a river obviously going all the way, like parallel with the roads, so it was. quite popular with tourists and uh we would visit that area quite a bit. One day, I'd been practicing law for almost five years there in Aberdeen. I went out to lunch with a lawyer friend of mine.
And in the middle of lunch, he asked me, he said, John, do you see yourself Working as a lawyer for the rest of your life. And I very quickly said, Of course, life was good. I was a partner, had worked hard. Enjoying life, serving the Lord, I thought, and felt we'd be there for the rest of our life. But as I left that conversation, I was convicted because I had answered it very quickly, possibly even arrogantly.
Later, I found out the lawyer who had asked the question was going to go. into, I think, investment banking, and he was wondering if I would uh join him there. But the question he asked changed my life. Because the more I thought about it, the more convicted I was that God was leading me in another path. Path.
And that was into full-time Ministry. Uh that was a shock. Also, we had met a couple of men who had graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary, who were doing their doctorates at Aberdeen University, and they told me about Alice Seminary. And I thought, not only would I leave my law firm and go into ministry, but I would move to Dallas Seminary. and studied there for four years.
Uh couldy, tell me. As we discussed that, what was your reaction to My saying this, we're going to go not only to another move in Scotland, but to another country. That was not easy. I have to admit that when he first started talking to me about. What he was thinking, and that he felt that the Lord was calling him, I showed very little interest in it.
I just thought this can't be happening. Why are we moving again? And even though he hadn't made final decisions, but he would talk to me about having had phone calls with people at the Alistair Theological Seminary, and this is what they said: and you know, I'm not too old to be a student again. On and on, and I honestly did not want to discuss it. Obviously, it was naivete.
mixed in with I don't want to move to another place. I've just moved from Faroe Islands to Scotland and why can't we just be happy here doing what we are doing.
So I thought that if I showed little interest That he would lose interest. One morning, um because actually on Saturday morning, we would usually have a leisurely breakfast and then John would go into his office and tidy up from the week. And so we were not in a rush that day. And he said to me, Uh up. Started talking again about the possibility of going to Dallas Theological Seminary because he felt really called to do that.
So he asked me if I had even prayed about it. And I had to admit, no, I have not prayed about it. I don't want to pray about it. And then he looked me in the eye and he said, Well, he says, Could you do me a favor? And Would you pray about it?
I know God is not calling me by myself. And if you, after having prayed about it, decide that that is not something you can do, that is my answer. God is not going to call me by myself. I am not forcing you. I just asked if you would pray.
And so I did, and God did change my heart. And the rest is history. Yeah, it was quite a story. Obviously, it was a huge shock to everyone, including. Good night.
And uh the amazing thing is After Goodney's initial hesitation and when She agreed that we would in fact move to Dallas. She's never doubted that since. has never said to me that was a bad decision, but has continued to follow the Lord.
So I had the difficult task of telling my partners, they've been very good to me, telling our family, friends, some of whom thought we were crazy. And so Um We put our house on the market. which sold, sold uh very well in God's goodness. I um Resigns from the partnership. Uh they were Due me some money, obviously, under the partnership.
agreement had been accepted by Dallas. And so We set out to Dallas. Neither of us had been there.
So we were facing a real cultural changed but we knew the lord was with us. It's a wonderful thing to know. That the Lord is with us and the Lord goes ahead of us.
So, are you following the Lord? Do you need to step out in faith? Have a sandal. You're listening to the weekly Avizandam podcast from The Verdict featuring Pastor John Monroe. John is Senior Pastor at Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Listen to John's daily program, The Verdict, on broadcast radio or major podcast platforms. For more information about the Verdict Ministry, visit us online at calvarychurch.com/slash the verdict.
