
Hello Friend, It’s been a while hasn’t it? When I first started blogging (10+years ago), I did it first to share our day to day life with friends and family who lived far away. Then I used blogging as an outlet to process the good, bad, and ugly of what we were going through. As time went on, I’ve made less and less time for writing and just let my thoughts bounce around in my head (and right out of my mouth sometimes). Recently, I’ve decided this might be a little better outlet.
I have no idea how regularly I’ll post but I’ve got some things that have been permeating as I reflect on the last few years. I’ll attempt to capture them here however often I am able to do so.
There have been so many changes in the last couple of years, that it is hard to catalog them all. We’ve had a lot of loss to be honest. I lost all 4 of my grandparents within about 18 months, it was a significant and profound loss for me and one I am still processing. There is not a day that goes by that I do not have some reminder or thought of my grandparents. Last month, we experienced another unexpected and painful loss when Kerry’s dad died suddenly. A loss we are all still processing and grieving.
We have also had a season of filled with incredible joy. Our oldest son Gabe was married to a wonderful girl, Rebecca. They have welcomed two beautiful children and we have entered the season of life where we are grandparents. It has been a delightful life transition for us and we delight in our grandchildren.
It’s been a time of family dynamic changes as we’ve had two children (Gabe and Otto) move out of our home. Otto has spend the last two years in Florida (21 hours away from home) and has met a lovely girl whom he plans to marry this coming June. I taught my last kindergartner and have children in high school, junior high, and elementary school (all still homeschooling).
Work has been filled with transitions and opportunities for personal and professional growth. Two years ago I transitioned to a new role within my same company. I learned a lot about myself and the business world in general. I met some amazing people and very dear friends. This last spring I moved back to my former team and it’s felt like a homecoming and has proved to be a good move for me. I am blessed to be able to work from home with the occasional travel opportunity to see my co-workers face to face.
While there have been a lot of changes for our family, God has been faithful through it all. Whether we were reeling from loss, rejoicing in new life, adjusting to change, or dealing with the challenge of every day life…God is faithful to provide what we need, when we need it. We have clung to the hope of Christ in eternity as we grieved the loss here on earth of family members we loved. We have rejoiced in his graciousness to us when we celebrated the marriage of our son and welcomed our grandchildren. We have leaned on Him for wisdom, strength, and guidance as we navigated challenges with homeschooling, child rearing, new relationships and living in a fallen world. We have often looked at one another and said “I don’t know how anyone survives without the hope of Christ”.
Over the coming weeks and months…really for however long…I plan to share with you those stories of His faithfulness and the lessons we’ve learned (and are still learning) along the way.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23
This song is one that has been on my heart the last couple of weeks. Christ is our hope life and death…Praise be to God alone.