Bret and I were reminiscing how a friend mentioned at Church last January that while 2008 was a hard year for many people, he felt that 2009 was going to be hard too. I remember sitting in church listening to that. I felt safe. Secure. Blessed. Life was good. Life was easy. And I liked it that way.
With the new year things changed. Life became hard. One thing after another. Trial upon trial. Tears shed. Hours spent in sacred places. Prayers of pleading.
And through it all amazing support from loved ones. Tender mercies in abundance. Faith strengthened. The Lord's hand working in our lives.
I remember an early spring evening in our back yard. We couldn't believe how much our vines had grown. Bret turned to me and said, "Our lives are like these trellises, you never know how strong your faith is until you have something that stretches it."
And then in an instant things changed. Where we had been receiving bad news after bad news, we started hearing good news after good news. We got accepted to the University of Virginia. We were able to sell our home in Texas for above asking price. We were able to buy a great little house in Charlottesville. We had the summer of our lives with family. The kids have been able to make great friends. And Bret really really loves what he is doing.
The Lord works in mysterious ways. I want my kids to remember 3 main things from our experience this past year.
- Heavenly Father has a very detailed plan for our family. He leads, guides and directs. He is aware of the big things, the little things, and everything in between.
- Our lives are filled with tender mercies. More often then not they come through the hearts and hands of those around us.
- We can do hard things and be better and stronger because of them.
More then anything as I think back on 2009 I feel overwhelmed with gratitude. It fills me from head to my toes. There are so, so many things to be grateful for in our lives.
My heart is full.
2 comments:
Sounds like you guys are doing great! Decided to check up on you guys and as always your writing lifts me up. Jeremy is being furloughed (temporarily laid off) from his airline on the 15th. I've thought of you and your family and have tried to keep the positive outlook through all this that you are always so good at doing. You're an inspiration and I love reading your posts when I get a chance. (Although, I don't check blogs very often anymore.) Happy New Year!
So happy to see that everything does work out the way it should be, even when a lot is asked of us to get there. Blessings come - we completely understand.
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