002 - Love in the Delay with Heather Ozerkov

In this week's episode, I talk to Heather Ozerkov where she shares her journey from Oregon to Alaska and her experience running Oz Lodge.  She encourages listeners to trust God's timing and find contentment in their current season. She emphasizes that God knows best and that He is not a fun sucker.

Here is a little note from Heather: Hi friends! Thanks so much for tuning in today!:) If you have any further questions about my story or feel like you need a little boost of encouragement through a current valley, I would totally LOVE to hear from you! Like seriously:)

If you find yourself in Seward, I was also 1000% sincere about wanting you to stop by Oz Lodge; please let us know when you’re in town! If you’re planning a trip in the future and need a place to stay, we would feel super privileged to get to host you:) Hit us up either way!

Lastly, here are a few links for you to check out on your next coffee break!!:) We are growing this little family business so any “Likes”, “Subscribes” and “Follows” would bless our socks right off!!! :) [Like, you may want to duck because socks will be flying!! LOL] Thanks a bunch and we’ll see you in Seward!:)

Website: https://ozlodge.com/

Oz Lodge Instagram: https://instagram.com/adventuresofoz_ozlodge?igshid=NzZlODBkYWE4Ng==

Heather Ozerkov Instagram: @heatherozerkov

You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@adventuresofozco3466/videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lbgn9aKR2Gg (Bear Hunt)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxCC3sCMBvY (Christmas Eve w/ Whales)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OzLodgeAK

Amazon Book Link: The Nature Fix

Transcript

kenzie smith (00:01)
 On today's episode of My Valley, His Victory, we have Heather Ozarkov. She was born into a fun loving family in Oregon. She attended college at Moody Bible Institute in Spokane, Washington, where she grew her love for the Lord and also took up rock climbing. Little did Heather know upon meeting her beloved husband, Matt, the Lord would expand her adventures to the Alaskan frontier. Currently with Matt's brother, Tim.

The Ozarkovs are excited to honor the Lord through their small family business. 

kenzie smith (00:42)
Oz Lodge in Seward, Alaska. Having fallen head over extra-toughs for Alaska's beauty, they eagerly welcome guests for all seasons of outdoor adventures. If you find yourself in Seward, the Ozarkovs love new friends, so make sure to swing by for a hot cup of coffee and one of Heather's famous homemade cinnamon rolls. Thanks so much for being with us today, Heather.

Heather Ozerkov (01:04)
Kenzie, thank you so much for including me. I love the journey that you're on and it's really a treat to get to be part of that. So thank you so much.

kenzie smith (01:12)
Yes, I'm so excited. I know we connected once before, but so excited to hear more about your story and more about your adventure in Alaska, some of the most beautiful country I've ever seen. So I'm sure you have a lot to share about that.

Heather Ozerkov (01:26)
Thank you so much!

kenzie smith (01:28)
Yeah, so if you want to go ahead

and just tell the listeners, I know that I gave them a little bit of information, but if you want to go ahead and tell them just a little bit more about yourself and who you are.

Heather Ozerkov (01:36)
Absolutely. So like Kenzie said, my name is Heather Ozarkov. I am 31 years old and currently live in Seward, Alaska with my husband Matt and our husky Australian Shepherd, Mix Nala. And originally I was born in Oregon, in Oregon City, which is 45 minutes south of Portland, just into a wonderful family. I'm so grateful just for the family that the Lord provided. And

really attribute just some of the paths I've taken in life to the encouragement that's come from my parents. My mom and dad both were third born, so third born has this stereotypical fun loving attitude and just very loosey goosey. I would say that's super true in their case. They just were a lot of fun.

really encouraging parents who love the Lord and were excited to teach my younger brother and I biblical principles and they did their best to really instill God's word in our lives early on. I definitely would say that they have a wonderful marriage and it's something that I always aspired to have. I looked at my parents and really hoped that someday I too would be able to have a successful marriage.

kenzie smith (03:04)
That's so sweet, the way that you talk about them. It's such a beautiful household to grow up in and such a beautiful way to look at it and have something, you know, a good role model to aspire to be like.

Heather Ozerkov (03:07)
It's super.

Absolutely, I agree.

kenzie smith (03:23)
Yeah, and you said on the, when we talked last, that your dad was a pastor, is that correct?

Heather Ozerkov (03:29)
Yes, my dad's a pastor just of a small country church and I always really loved being a pastor's kid. I know that some can struggle with that concept but I loved knowing that my dad was just investing in God's Word and knew it well so that we could have conversations frequently. You know, dad what do you think about this or I read that and I just do not know what is going on here. So that was a huge gift to me.

kenzie smith (03:45)
Yeah.

Yeah, that's amazing. I'm always like, I wish I had a pastor or someone that like knew the Bible so well that I could just pick their brain about. And so I'm sure that was super, a super great resource to have growing up and being able to ask some of those hard questions too. Cause I know I, you know, I grew up in the church, but wasn't, wasn't with the Lord my whole life. And

I just had a lot of really hard questions that I feel like no one could really answer for me. So that was probably such a great resource for you to have.

Heather Ozerkov (04:26)
It's so true. And it really, yeah, when we encountered the Bible, especially, like you said, you grew up in the church, I grew up in the church, but a lot of my friends didn't grow up like that. And man, when you open the Bible, sometimes there's a ton of questions and that's awesome. And I wouldn't expect it to be any different, but it is wonderful just to have somebody that you can rely on to just kind of help navigate. So absolutely.

kenzie smith (04:54)
Yeah, so you talked a little bit about living in Alaska. Tell us a little bit about that journey and kind of about the Oz Lodge and how that came about and what you guys are doing up there.

Heather Ozerkov (05:08)
Absolutely. So Alaska, I just laugh because I feel like the Lord totally pulled one on me. I grew up absolutely loving ranching and horses and hot weather. I would spend a lot of time over in eastern Oregon pursuing that lifestyle. And I was convinced that it was God's will that I would marry a cowboy, become a rancher's wife, and just do everything that pertains to that life. And

kenzie smith (05:31)
I'm out.

Heather Ozerkov (05:39)
It turned out that that's actually not what the Lord had for me. And I feel like it's really neat though. Sometimes we have this very specific dream and when the Lord doesn't provide that specific dream, I feel like he parallels some of the aspects that you did want, but he puts you in a spot that's way better than what you came up with or what I came up with in that sense. So, 

kenzie smith (06:03)
Definitely.

Heather Ozerkov (06:07)
The way I met my husband was super random. He and his brother had purchased property in Alaska and they were making one last trip to Oregon. They had a house that they'd purchased there. They were planning to flip it, sell it, and then move entirely up to Alaska. And my brother-in-law hopped on Facebook. He saw that there was a singles dinner at a restaurant through their church. And...

I happened to see the same ad even though I didn't attend that church. And my husband, my now husband Matt, he'd been praying fervently for a wife and Tim basically forced him to go to this dinner. They were super tired after a long drive. And we met there and hit it off. But at that point, you know, again, I had this mindset, I'm going to marry a rancher, I'm going to do that. So I didn't even think anything of it. But my husband, or.

my now husband Matt, he kept in contact after packing up, selling the house and heading back to Alaska and made it clear that he'd like to get to know me. And there was a particular weekend I was heading to a ranch for a branding weekend and he texted me and he said, all right, well, you have this weekend to go find your cowboy. And if you do not find him, you need to get to know me. And I was like,

What in the world? Yeah, who is this guy? So anyway, as the Lord would have it, Matt is the guy I definitely know that I was supposed to be with. And so now we are in Seward, Alaska. And like you had mentioned, we've just opened this super fun family business, Oz Lodge, and we've been hosting guests from all over the world just to come and experience Alaska.

kenzie smith (07:32)
That's a bold statement.

Heather Ozerkov (08:00)
As we're talking about like outdoors and just the beauty of nature around us, I've never been to this part of the world and what blows my mind is the mountains just keep going.

Having grown up in Oregon, I was right by Mount Hood. It's a beautiful single mountain but here you have this range that just keeps going and it's honestly just stunning. So we love it here.

and we really love people and we love making connections. We love just hearing people's stories and we get really excited when people want to come and enjoy what we are loving. So yeah, if you're ever in Seward, please just holler out. We just stop by. We're totally last minute and we usually have a bed available. So if you need somewhere to stay, just hit us up. So anyway, yeah.

kenzie smith (08:56)
So is the Oz Lodge, is it more of like a bed and breakfast or is it a adventure as in you guys take guests out and do activities or what can people expect if they were to book a trip to the Oz Lodge?

Heather Ozerkov (09:10)
Yeah, absolutely. So we are kind of wanting to do it all. Myself, Tim, my brother-in-law, and my husband Matt all love all of the adventures. So skiing, snowboarding, we love to get into some ice climbing. Our bread and butter right now is salmon fishing. And in Seward, you're allowed to snag the fish, which is actually not a legal technique. I don't know.

I don't know of another place that you're legally allowed to snag. So it's really fun because this is where you cast your hook in the water and you just have to connect with the fish. Any part of the body you can scoop them up and it just ends up being like this super fun like action packed method of fishing. And that happens when this red sil... Excuse me. When the red salmon are running in June.

And then when the silver season comes around, that's in September. So that's kind of our bread and butter right now, but we are all about play. And so we definitely want to make sure that we're just able to offer that. If people want to come up and ski and hike. One thing I really enjoy doing is just kind of scoping out all the hikes that are around. And so anytime someone comes, I feel like I have a great arsenal of hikes.

kenzie smith (10:07)
Okay.

Heather Ozerkov (10:35)
of all different levels that we can take people on. So it really is a lot of fun. And because it's our family gig, we just feel like we get to love on people. And the goal is to show the love of Christ regardless of where someone's coming from. So we are loving it. Yeah.

kenzie smith (10:55)
I love that. That sounds like so much fun and I was telling my husband before this, I was like, we need to plan a trip to Alaska and go stay at their lodge. And I've had the opportunity to go and I actually lived in Alaska for a summer and it's one of my favorite places on the planet and I keep telling him like, we got to go, we got to go, we got to go. And so now having a connection in Seward, I was like,

Heather Ozerkov (11:04)
We would love that

Absolutely.

kenzie smith (11:20)
We gotta go and now we have someone, like we have a reason to go, you know? It's like, we gotta go visit these new friends that we made.

Heather Ozerkov (11:25)
Yeah. And we have this fun little bunkhouse so it makes for like an awesome group trip and I totally envision like as I've seen you progress with like your Instagram I'm like man we can totally do just a really fun like group activity you know and the sky's the limit literally out here so.

kenzie smith (11:44)
For sure, just gotta get people in the proper attire because it's pretty cold up there.

Heather Ozerkov (11:48)
Absolutely. Yep. Yes. The snow was not something I was super excited about when I first was getting to know Matt and I just decided, you know what, just buy cute snow pants and it will totally be okay. And it has been so absolutely worth it.

kenzie smith (12:04)
I love that and it seems like from your Instagram you guys have gotten some of the true Alaskan experiences I know you guys were just out for a couple weeks on some island hunting, right? How did that go?

Heather Ozerkov (12:14)
Yeah, yes, absolutely. Never in a million years what I have envisioned. Yeah, like you said, we're living remotely on Raspberry Island, which is right off of Kodiak. We ended up having three elk tags. We were not successful in the elk hunt. We had, they were cow tags. And seriously, we came up on like 40 bull elk and could not find.

kenzie smith (12:41)
Oh my goodness.

Heather Ozerkov (12:42)
So that was crazy. But we did end up getting a brown bear, which was just insane. And again, just the Lord gives opportunity that you think you never would have. And it was it was a really neat thing. So we have that on video if anybody wants to check out some suspenseful footage.

kenzie smith (13:02)
Yeah and that thing was huge.

Heather Ozerkov (13:04)
It was pretty darn big size, so. And it looks twice as big in the fog, so I was like shaking in my boots.

kenzie smith (13:07)
I was...

Now is that a grizzly bear or I know you said brown bear but what specific type of brown bear do you know?

Heather Ozerkov (13:18)
Yeah, so it's super weird. My understanding is brown bears and grizzly bears are the same basically, but it's considered a brown bear if it's coastal and it's considered a grizzly if it's more inland. The Kodiak brown bear is specific to the Kodiak area, so as far as I know that would have been considered like a Kodiak brown bear.

kenzie smith (13:31)
Okay.

Okay, okay, very cool. So out of all of the outdoor activities that you do, which one would you say that is your favorite and kind of how did you get into it?

Heather Ozerkov (13:54)
Absolutely. This one, this was a really tough question for me. There's so many things that come to mind, but I think I would have to go with boy. I think I would have to go with

Let's go with rock climbing. I have a really hard time like nailing down which one I would love. Yeah. So I really love rock climbing and this is something I picked up in college and it was so funny because my parents would call me and they'd be like, what you up to? And I'd be like dangling on the side of the cliff and be like, oh, I'm just rock climbing. And they were convinced I didn't do school anymore.

kenzie smith (14:23)
That's okay.

Heather Ozerkov (14:45)
because I was always out on an adventure. But I really enjoy just the whole process of it. First you have to decide that you're gonna be okay with the heights. And when you are climbing with someone, we did top roping. So you have the rope connected at the top of the cliff side and then someone on the bottom belaying you. And what I really enjoy about that is that you have your buddy.

and you have to trust your gear. You know, and it's just like walking with the Lord where you have an anchor and you have to trust what he's given you, you know, his word, his truth. And as you're climbing up, you know, you get to a spot sometimes where I'm 5'2", I don't have the longest span. And sometimes you would see the next cliff hold, but you cannot reach it. And there's multiple ways that you can

navigate that, you know, maybe you can

go down a little and then over. But one of my favorite things amongst my friends was I would lean down and I would look and I'd say, can I just get a little encouragement? And they would know whoever it was, they would tighten up on that rope and then they would just like reef on it and give me just like two inches, you know? So call it cheating. I don't know what you want to call it. I wasn't competing. This was just for fun, but

kenzie smith (16:04)
Yeah.

Heather Ozerkov (16:12)
Sometimes you need that extra two inches and I just feel like the Lord gives us that in life. Absolutely. And as you continue your climb, you would get to the top and everything in you is burning. And you also in those moments are like, what am I doing this high up? But I always took the opportunity and whoever was bling for me knew.

Heather just needs a minute at the top because I like to just look around and just take in everything I can see to be grateful that my body is physically able to do that and just to be in awe of what the Lord has made. And those were just wonderful times in college of just getting to climb and experience that just intimacy with the Lord and having that word picture in mind.

So we're really excited to continue that here in Alaska. And I definitely hope to expand that to ice climbing soon.

kenzie smith (17:17)
Yeah, I've seen a lot of people that ice climbing and I'm like, that's crazy. It's it just looks like such a such a wild adventure. I mean, I don't know how else to put it. It's something that I, you know, I'm like, oh, that sounds really interesting. But at the same time, I'm like, those people have a lot of. What's the right word? But yes, they're a little crazy. And I would say they have just.

Heather Ozerkov (17:21)
And it's awesome.

crazy because that's what I kind of think.

kenzie smith (17:47)
They have to have so much skill. I mean, it's such a skillful thing. I think climbing is one of those things that is way harder than the average person believes. And I've only really ever been bouldering in a gym, but I'll say I get like five or six climbs in and my forearms are just done.

Heather Ozerkov (17:58)
Yeah, absolutely.

Absolutely, yes,

just little forearms. It's like, oh.

kenzie smith (18:10)
I'm like, I work, yeah. But, so you kind of already answered the next question a little bit, but just wanna go ahead and ask you in case you have anything else to add. I know you talked about being at the top of a climb and just being able to spend time with the Lord and kind of be in awe of his creation, but is there anything else in the outdoors that plays a role in your relationship with Christ or moments that you just really savor while...

being in the outdoors.

Heather Ozerkov (18:42)
Absolutely, yeah. There's so many, sometimes it's hard to pinpoint, but I will share one. Christmas Eve out on Raspberry Island two years ago, we had such an incredible opportunity. Matt, Tim and I really love to zip around in a little Zodiac, which is just, it's an inflatable boat that's pretty beefy and it just has like a 20 horse engine on it.

And we just like to kind of look around and see what wildlife are around. And we'd been out for about two hours or so one day and we were about to call it. And again, this is Christmas Eve and we were hoping to see some whales. And last minute we saw this whale just start breaching. And it is just like the most spectacular thing to see such a massive animal submerge out of the water, flying through the air and then like

they twist and then they splash down. And it ended up there was a mama whale and two calves with her. And the three of these whales just went on forever. And it was like the most spectacular experience because one, we're really close to these whales. You know, we're, I don't know, a hundred feet or so. So you've taken a lot of...

It's just like a very full experience. One, you can smell them. They do not smell good at all. You hear them breathing, yeah. And as they're splashing and breathing, the mist that comes from their little blowhole is flying through the air too. So it just is like crazy.

kenzie smith (20:14)
Very interesting.

Heather Ozerkov (20:32)
 everything in me is like, my mother would not approve of us being this close, but it was just so fun. And  it's weird because we're convinced that if you cheer for them, they keep going and they, they just want to go more, you know? So, the three of us just enjoyed this. It was at least an hour of them , just breaching and playing and flapping their tails. And that's just something that

I feel like it was very special, like a very God given gift for in this moment, I want you to enjoy something that's super unique and just to be reminded of how great I am. And we just know that like the Lord names and numbers the stars like he hangs them into place. And when we get out in the outdoors, we give him the opportunity to show off really. And

even for folks that maybe are never going to end up with a crazy experience like that, just going outside and recognizing how much detail is being put into the grass growing, the leaves turning different colors. Like scientifically there's so much going on and it just shouts that the Lord is so good that he's in control. And what blows me away even more

that God is intimately interested in my heart, in my desires, and for everyone's around me. The other thing that kind of just amazes me too is sometimes we interact with nature, sometimes we're on a hike, and it's so beautiful. We can't hardly picture something any better.

You know, some of my favorite places on Earth would be Banff in Canada, as well as the Clear Lake on the Mackenzie River in Eastern, er, not Eastern Oregon, but Highway 22 in Oregon. And these are like some of the most stunning places. And to recognize that this, what we're experiencing now is just a glimpse of what heaven will be like.

kenzie smith (22:44)
Okay.

Heather Ozerkov (22:57)
And if this broken place can be so beautiful, how incredible is the place that the Lord's preparing for us? And that just gets me so excited.

And to have that eternal perspective just springboards you into a life that's so full because the little stuff just really doesn't matter. So I just.

you know when you're having a bad day or something just is really tough just getting outside is such a gift and I think the Lord has painted a lot of beauty in front of us for us to access if we choose to get out there.

kenzie smith (23:39)
Yeah. That's so, so beautifully said. And I was listening to a different podcast the other day. And, it was talking about, you know, like if, if you knew that the Lord was coming, you know, next week, coming back next week, you know, what would you want to do? And it's a podcast where a couple of the people that are on it make some jokes and like, I'd want to go on a trip, you know, and I'd want to go visit so-and-so. And it was like, why?

Heather Ozerkov (23:46)
Oh, awesome.

kenzie smith (24:04)
Like you do realize that if the Lord's coming back, like you're gonna be able to see all these places and you're gonna be able to see them in their restored version, you know, cause we do live in a broken world. We do live in a place that has, you know, been broken. And so just seeing, if we think this is so beautiful today, it's like, imagine what it looked like before the fall, you know? And that just blows my mind to think that way.

Heather Ozerkov (24:25)
Absolutely. Yeah, I can't even

Absolutely.

kenzie smith (24:34)
So I know that you obviously live in Alaska and you are around some of the most just beautiful creation that exists on the planet. But for someone who maybe lives in an urban environment or in a city that doesn't have access to the mountains or some of the things that you might have access to, what advice can you give them to still experience God in the outdoors, maybe without these huge grand moments? I know you touched a little bit on it, but...

Heather Ozerkov (25:02)
Yeah, absolutely The wonderful thing about the Lord is that we know that he's omnipresent he is everywhere which includes the hustling bustling city That includes the desert that includes the mountains so for somebody that may not have the opportunities I would still really encourage just getting outside oftentimes There are

parks that are around. So I would definitely just encourage, do a little research because oftentimes those beautiful little spots aren't the most popular. They're a little hidden and I'll bet you, you can find something.  the other thing maybe be involved in,  some of those community gardens, you know, and just watch that process of growth of flowers, of vegetables, and 

those might be some as I'm thinking of someone who's like super immersed in the city life. Those would be some of my top recommendations. But again, even just being outside, I don't know the science behind it, but I totally recognize that the sunlight on your eyelids totally releases endorphins, serotonin, like all of those happy little chemicals. So

just taking your break at work, go sit out on a park bench, walk around a little, you know, just a little area. I think there's always something you can do if you want it bad enough. So I definitely encourage you in that way.

kenzie smith (26:44)
Yeah, definitely. I just, I was gifted a book from a friend called The Nature Fix, and it's actually the scientific study of how nature actually can like heal our body, just even like you were saying, being out in the sunlight and the things, you know, grounding your feet in the grass and just feeling the sun on your face and just not living life indoors. It was a really good book on just kind of, I think what we talk a lot about and how nature is such a healing place and such a place of

Heather Ozerkov (26:56)
Yes

kenzie smith (27:14)
Just beautiful experience and it's more of the scientific and not the religious view, but it was a really good read.

Heather Ozerkov (27:21)
Absolutely. I find it super interesting because oftentimes when we do learn the scientific view there's the biblical principle that you know it came from and it just is really fun. You know it's like God is so good and he's so big.

kenzie smith (27:32)
Yep.

Absolutely. It's like, I think so many people, and I used to be one of these people, believe that science and the Bible are opposite. And it's like, really, they continue to back each other up the more you dive into science.

Heather Ozerkov (27:51)
Absolutely.

kenzie smith (27:54)
Well, switching gears a little bit into kind of the title of this podcast, My Valley, His Victory, can you share with the listeners about a valley you experienced, what you experienced and what God taught you or prepared you for in that season?

Heather Ozerkov (28:09)
Absolutely. So I was able to attend a Bible college and that was moody and Spokane. And it was there that I really realized that desire to be married and I just had this you know dream of being somebody's wife and I think that's where it all kind of started. And that's where relationships for me started as well. I did not date in high school.

And so upon college, all of a sudden, there's all these wonderful men and it's like, holy moly, what am I supposed to do? And that became a huge source of anxiety for me. And I find it interesting because everyone's journey and story is so different. But the truth of God's word and the struggle that we have.

often are very similar. So even if a listener hasn't had my experience, I'd love to just share the truths that I learned through that. So hopefully they can be encouraged as well. But I think it's funny because my parents had this wonderful marriage, which is fantastic, but I think it also intimidated me because I was so concerned that I'd make the wrong choice.

that I would not end up with a wonderful Christian man and that everything would just go down the toilet. So I know that you know Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy and those thoughts were definitely not from the Lord. And I recognize that whole process of trying to find a husband, things come in waves where you'll be doing really well and then you won't be doing well.

Contentment is huge and some days I was super content, some days I wasn't. As I walked through this journey, most of the individuals that I chose to get to know were

great godly men and for whatever reason it just didn't work out. I got to a time in life where I just was kind of feeling a little defeated.

I met this individual who I definitely hit it off with really quick. We had a lot of fun. The chemistry was there.

Growing up, I really was not the kid to rebel. It didn't make any sense for me to do the wrong thing. And so you do your best to walk righteously in whatever you're doing. But with this particular relationship, I literally remember thinking, I am 20-something years old, I've never kissed a guy, what is the big deal about this anyway? And so...

I kind of went from zero to a hundred and unfortunately this fella and I decided not to have a godly relationship and that I would say was one of my biggest valleys because I am definitely convinced that people who know and have interacted with God's word, they know better and they recognize what the Lord has commanded and choose not to participate in that.

are the most miserable people out there. It's worse than not knowing and walking in sin. And I spent about a year in an unhealthy relationship with this gentleman and it caused me to lower my standards. I did things that I wished I would not have participated in. Physically, you know, it was not honoring the Lord.

and I was so miserable and kind of had to go behind my parents back because they didn't realize this was going on and I just remember feeling so disgusting and just like this is not where life is at and you kind of think of the prodigal son where you're like man I am choosing

Absolutely getting me nowhere and I am confident. I'm not gonna marry this guy and So there was just a certain point in our relationship where I Just let him know I was like you know what this is not God honoring neither of us are going anywhere and I felt the guilt of I knew better and rather than investing

a whole year of encouraging this young man to walk righteously with the Lord, I totally brought him down. I did not set a good example. What I could have offered him, even just as a friend, was so much. Yet, I chose to act selfishly and to just roll in my fleshly desires. That's a huge regret that I have.

And the thing is, God is so faithful in that, you know, when we repent of our sin, we do a 180 and we decide, I'm not going back there. And we didn't, you know, so God has redeemed that friendship and but we've both obviously moved on. But what I would say is a truth that I took from that time in life that I think is applicable to all of us.

is God is not a fun sucker. And what I mean by that is when he gives us clear instruction on how to live, it's not because he's up there thinking, I wanna make their life miserable. I know that there's sexual desire here, and I'm just gonna say they shouldn't participate in that. It's because he's designed us. He knows how we operate, and he recognizes

this is not the path of blessing. And so I think one of the biggest truths that I got out of that was, again, God is not a fun sucker. And He gives us His word in order that we can live in a manner worthy of the gospel, but also so that we're on a path to blessing. And it's really difficult for the Lord to be able to bless us if we're thumbing our nose directly at what the Lord.

has for us. So I think when we recognize or when we look at sin that way versus being something that we want, it just really helps springboard us into a lot more success. So that valley kind of continued. You know after we broke things off, I did start to walk righteously.

but I was still single and it was going to be.

like seven years, five, five more years, something like that, five or six more years until I eventually met Matt. And I went through a lot of anxiety because with the different relationships that came in and out of my life, I also started to get more nervous like, Lord is the thing that I'm holding out for even your will. And I would say that is another.

 truth that I'm discovering about the Lord is the Lord does not owe us anything and sometimes we live like he does and when we don't get what we want we tend to throw a bit of a tantrum and so what I what I did my best to do was to live life with the idea that maybe he would not provide a husband.

And like I said earlier, sometimes the emotions would come in waves and I'd be doing really well and then sometimes I would not be doing well. And I went through a lot of anxiety. I went through a lot of health issues because of it. And it was only by the Lord's grace at the very last minute I felt that the Lord provided Matt. And

My mom always said, you know, you have to hang on because it's going to get better. And I didn't believe her. But now I can look her in the face and thank her for that encouragement during that time. So, yeah, it definitely is a long process. And for those who have that desire and still have not found a mate, I just cannot emphasize enough. The Lord sees you. He hears you. And

your status has to go through the Lord's stamp of approval. So if you're single today, recognize that is the Lord's best for you today. And you know what? It only takes one day for that to change. It only takes one meal over some awesome tater tots and that can change. So I just, I, as I interact with my single friends, 

kenzie smith (37:59)
Hahaha.

Heather Ozerkov (38:08)
just having been so blessed by my marriage now, it was so worth the wait. It was so worth that heartache. But just trusting the Lord through that, it was so worth it. So don't settle and don't rush the Lord, because if you don't give him the time to finish what he started, you're going to rip yourself off. So that I would say is kind of a valley experience.

that the Lord has redeemed in my life.

kenzie smith (38:42)
Yeah, thank you so much for sharing and speaking some encouraging words to those that may be struggling with a

similar experience. I love what you said, like it can change in a day. Your experience changed over an event that you had no plans to go to and probably the last you probably just went, you know, like, oh, I guess I have to go to the singles thing.

Heather Ozerkov (38:55)
Mm-hmm.

I know. It was probably about the hundredth single sing I had been to. So at that point, you're not expecting anything.

kenzie smith (39:15)
Yeah, it's kind of one of those things like you said this whenever we talked the last thing, enjoy the gift you're given today because this, you know, it may be the gift that you end up keeping, you know, and you may not get the gift of marriage. And so I think contentment is such a, but also contentment without giving up on pursuing whatever it is that you.

Heather Ozerkov (39:24)
Yes.

kenzie smith (39:43)
you know, you feel called to pursue. And so being content, but also going to those singles events and continuing to try instead of just saying like, oh well.

Heather Ozerkov (39:54)
Absolutely. I had a wonderful conversation with a girlfriend just this weekend. She's single, still waiting for her husband. And I just reminded her of the story of Gladys Aylward. She'd be somebody I definitely recommend you look up as listeners if you've not heard her story. But as a single woman, she moved mountains for the Lord in her singleness and decided

that she was going to honor the Lord with her life, even though the Lord did not end up giving her a spouse. And I just encourage my friend, I don't know what it is that the Lord has, but what I do know is if there's two children that want the same thing, and one of them is screaming and throwing a tantrum on the floor, and the other is happily helping with cleaning up the dishes or cleaning up socks.

Which kiddo do you think the father would be more excited to bless? To me, the one throwing a tantrum isn't quite ready to receive the gift. So I encouraged her, as you're single, as you're walking through this life without a spouse right now, do your best to set your life up so that you are living in gratitude, utilizing the days you've been given.

which will also cause you to be attractive. When we have that sour puss attitude about our situation, we're not gonna come off as attractive to someone of the opposite gender. So I just would really encourage you, hang on, it only takes one day and serve the Lord with gusto with the day you've been given and recognize it could be that draws your spouse to you.

kenzie smith (41:52)
Yeah, and from what you said earlier, don't settle for something that's not God-given either.

Heather Ozerkov (41:56)
Yes, absolutely. Marriage is not an easy thing and but it can be so fun when you've waited for someone that has character that's going to develop and continue to grow. In our scenario, everyone was so excited when Matt and I announced that we were getting married because they recognized his character and what we could become together.

versus having settled for someone that wasn't going to live that life. And I'm just so grateful. I always say I wish everyone could experience the joy that I did on my wedding day. I didn't have the most expensive dress. We were married basically in our shop barn, you know, but it was just something to rejoice over because it was so clear that the Lord had orchestrated and aligned that event.

One other thing that comes to mind too, if you find yourself single and you're desiring to be married, fervently ask the Lord for peace and joy when it's right. There's a lot of unsurety, you know, like that's a big decision, but the Lord is the God of peace and He is absolutely on board in, as far as I've...

experienced when it's right, people are going to be rejoicing around you. So wait for that. Please hold out for that and just continue going forward.

kenzie smith (43:36)
Yeah, that's a good word for the listeners. Anything else you want to leave them with before we wrap up?

Heather Ozerkov (43:42)
I do want to leave you with one of my favorite scriptures. And it's the concept of there's love in the delay. For me it was a period of over 10 years hoping and wanting to be married. And to me that felt like forever. I thought God was late, but it turns out he wasn't. And one of my favorite scriptures is John 11. I believe...

Sorry, my verse is, I believe it's four through six. And it's the story of when Lazarus becomes ill. And Mary and Martha send word to Jesus. He was in a different town. And they're basically like, our brother is ill. The one whom you love is ill. Please come. And scripture literally says, now Jesus loved Martha and her sister.

and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. And I always think, what? That's not how it's supposed to go. But what I've recognized and with my own story, there's absolutely love in the delay. Jesus had a much bigger plan than Mary and Martha could have orchestrated.

because of that he is so trustworthy. So for those of you waiting for whatever it is, maybe it's not a spouse, maybe it's a job or an opportunity or you know who knows but I promise there's love in the delay and while there's a delay be fervent to be found faithful doing your part so that the Lord can one day just drop in your lap that blessing that you've been asking for.

kenzie smith (45:38)
Wow, what a perfect scripture for what it is that you're talking about. And, you know, I think we all think, God, you know, our timeline needs to be God's timeline. And it's really a lot of times I feel like whenever we give up our timeline, that, you know, kind of things actually start to play out because God wants to know if we're gonna be faithful when we don't get our way and we don't get what we want when we want. And, you know, like you were saying, see if we're going to, in that waiting time, still be fervently doing.

Heather Ozerkov (45:55)
Absolutely.

kenzie smith (46:08)
what it is our part is supposed to be and doing the things that we're supposed to be doing.

Heather Ozerkov (46:13)
Absolutely.

kenzie smith (46:15)
I think obedience is key and, you know, what do they say that...

What's the word? Like disgruntled obedience? Isn't obedience? What's the word I'm thinking of?

Heather Ozerkov (46:34)
I know what you're referring to, but yeah, it's the attitude. Like if you're all grumpy about it, it's not, you know, your heart's gotta be in it. And it's when we're walking around with our hand open because we've released whatever it is to the Lord that he can put something in your hand. Recognize too, it may not be the exact thing, but he's so faithful to fulfill your desires in maybe a different way.

than you planned, but just recognize he's so able to write your story better than you can. So trust him. He's absolutely trustworthy.

kenzie smith (47:15)
Amen. I love that. Well, thank you so much, Heather, for sharing your story and just a little bit about your journey in Alaska and kind of just your journey in life and what God has taught you have really appreciated and really taken a lot out of today's conversation and have loved getting to know you. And so thank you so much for being here.

Heather Ozerkov (47:37)
Oh man, it's such a pleasure. Thank you so much again just for the invitation. I love to be included in your journey as well.

kenzie smith (47:45)
Yeah, so for our listeners, where can they find you or where can they follow along your OzLodge journey in Alaska?

Heather Ozerkov (47:56)
Yeah, yeah, so we have a little website, OzLodge.com. We also have Instagram Adventures of Oz, underscore OzLodge. And then on Facebook we're on OzLodge as well. So lots of fun opportunity. And again, if you're in Seward, please reach out. We love getting to meet new people and just encourage fellow believers on their way. So please, please stop by.

kenzie smith (48:24)
Yeah, awesome. Well, we look forward to following along and thanks so much for being on.

Heather Ozerkov (48:30)
Thank you so much Kenzie, have a fantastic day.