looking backward

I love the turn of a new year. No matter the circumstances on December 31, on January 1 I feel newly full of hope and promise for the months ahead. This being a milestone year (the end of the no-name decade), I have to take a moment to reflect on the journey of the Oh-Ohs. The single-digits? The "aughts?" Anyway, here are the highlights and lowlights of the past decade:

College graduation.
Never mind that I would never actually use the degree;
it was still a great achievement.

Wedding.
Married my bestest buddy and my first and only true love.
Ten years later, he's still the guy who makes my heart happy.

Moves.
Idaho, Indiana, Oregon. All of them home.

Struggle.
What do you do when you realize
that the picture you had in your head five years ago
doesn't look anything like the reality you face?
To say that we have struggled is an understatement.
This I do know: God's grace is sufficient. God sustains. Always.

Teaching.
An embarrassingly short teaching career, but those two-and-a-half years
spent shaping the minds of first graders brought me so much joy and fulfillment.
I miss the classroom. I hope to go back there one day.

Loss.
Ben and I both lost our last remaining grandparent in this decade.
So strange how an entire generation can disappear.
Then everything shifts, whether you're ready for it or not.
Suddenly, our parents are the elderly and we're the grownups.
We still feel like kids.

Children.
Oh, my babies. My precious little boys.
I'm constantly astonished by how much I love them.
Being a mother has brought me unspeakable joy.

God.
What can I say about the goodness of the Lord?
I have been overwhelmed by His loving, merciful,
unshakeable presence on the brightest days and darkest nights.
I have learned how to long for and allow for
Him to rule and reign in my heart and in my home.
He is with me.
He is unchanging.
He wants me to dream big dreams.
He delights in me.

Oh... how He loves me so.