The journey is yet before me....

-
I am looking at the middle of a week just prior to Christmas and cannot believe how the time has gone by! We are celebrating two years in Brazil, Indiana this month, and I am just amazed at what God has done. If you had told me back in 2007 that we would be here, I would not have believed it and probably would have laughed. I am truly speechless at times when I look back at what Ryan and I have endured. We are in no way done learning from what happened, we continue to learn from it and walk forward with what God has for us to do now. Nothing good can come from dwelling on the past, our mistakes, who did what to whom, or how we could have done it differently. The reality of what we endured hits me square in the face when I realize things could have been very different today had we not remained faithful to our God, to our marriage and our family, and to the calling upon our lives. It is interesting how a struggle can force you to take a hard look at your options and the scary part is, I actually pictured what my life would be like without Ryan. It was not good. It was an unhappy, unsettled existence for which I know I would have deeply regretted for the rest of my life. It would have been terrible for my children, and for our families to endure. It would have been a path away from God's intended purpose for me. It is difficult to admit this, but it is a way for me to come full circle with where we are today. I realize more than ever that today, what we have, who we are, how blessed we truly are---it is thanks to our God. When you find yourself in a place in life where you literally lose everything you have to survive in this world, it puts your wants and needs into perspective. We live in a world, and now we live in a community where so many people are without the basic necessities of life. It is humbling to realize there is so little we need to be happy, truly happy and we have so much to be thankful for. Happiness must be based upon the things not of this world, the peace and joy and love that only God can provide. How selfish and superficial we are to think we need this or that, when the person next to us is just thankful to have a warm bed, a warm meal, a kind hand to help them. Ryan and I are celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary this month, and I am more aware this year than any other of how remarkable it is that we have come this far. I am more in love with this incredible man, this wonderful, gifted, loving man than I have ever been in our marriage. I can't wait to celebrate 15 more years and on and on and on.....I love you Ry.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Joy and Light

-
 Early Tuesday morning January 2, 2024, I got a call that my Mom was slipping away and the family should come.  We knew she was not doing well these past couple of weeks as she had developed pneumonia and covid, and she was struggling just to manage breathing.   When I arrived, the nurse brought me in to Mom's bedside, and quietly stepped out to give me some time alone with her before my Dad and my brother arrived.   I cried like I have never cried before in my life, and went to my knees beside her, resting my hand on her arm.  I have no words to describe what it felt like in that moment, the finality and the reality of it.  My brain understood she was gone, no longer there.  But my heart, regardless of how far gone Mom had been for years now..... my heart was suddenly flooded with the feelings, the sounds, the memories of her across my entire life, rushing through my head in that moment all at once.  It felt like time kind of stopped, s...
Read more

Mission trip

-
Mission trip. The words don't do justice to the purpose, do they? What it is is so much deeper, fuller, richer than the two words actually sound like. Those two words make it sound so simple, but in reality it is an incredible journey that will impact a human life on so many levels. I have had the wonderful opportunity at several times in my life to serve in missions, both here in the United States and abroad. My parents were huge supporters of home and foreign missions all their lives, and we were raised to have a great appreciation for missions as a result. I have incredible memories of our trip to Hong Kong when I was 14 years old. I served in the summer missions program in my hometown, Springfield, Missouri, for several years working in day camps with local kids of all ages. I served in Hawaii for one summer working with some challenging kids in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in a small town on the island of Oahu. I served in Salt Lake City, Utah during the Wi...
Read more

Light in the darkness

-
Image
  'In this time of fear When prayer so often proves in vain Hope seems like the summer bird Too swiftly flown away Yet now I'm standing here My hearts so full, I can't explain Seeking faith and speaking words I never thought I'd say... There can be miracles When you believe Though hope is frail, it's hard to kill  Who knows what miracles you can achieve? When you believe, somehow you will You will when you believe' (When You Believe, songwriters: Kenneth Babyface Edmonds, Stephen Lawrence Schwartz/performed by Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston "The Prince of Egypt" soundtrack 1998) I've been reminiscent recently as we are preparing for Christmas, of things that are especially meaningful to me.  The sights, the sounds, the aromas, the feelings, my mind is full of so many. One of my favorite sights as a child, still a picture in my mind even now:  The Christmas tree aglow, and one of my favorite gifts was an antique baby carriage with a beautiful antique...
Read more