18 Years of Marriage

It's been 18 years since we said, "I do"! We have now known each other half of our lives and it's strange to realize that that is even possible. 

This year has been different. So many things are the same but I don't know another word to describe it. 

Maybe it's because we found out our 11th blessing was formed and growing just after our anniversary last year, and this year has been mostly consumed by that, even though that's not really new for us. 

Maybe it's because God has shown us a bigger and different vision for ministry than we expected and we're now working on building that together. 

Maybe it's because we have a teenager now and we've moved into the next phase of parenting along with all of the other stages. Having such a wide range of parenting has many unique challenges. 

Maybe it's because things have become more normal, and yet things are not at all what they were before the pandemic in the whole of life. 

Maybe it's some of all of it and even other things. It's hard to say. 

All that we know for sure is that God has been with us, guiding us, challenging us, protecting us, growing us, and showing us what it means to trust Him and His leading, even when we don't know or understand what He's doing. 

And we're doing life together. We're learning what it means to do life together, to do life as a family, to teach, train, disciple and evangelize our children well and to be good disciples ourselves. 

Perhaps more than anything this year we've learned how inadequate we truly are to do this amazing task that God has given to us, and yet by HIS grace, we have everything we need to do what He has called us to.

Here's to next year and the many years to come (if Jesus doesn't come back!)!!

(We've only taken 3 pictures together in the last year, this one is from Thanksgiving, the last time we took one of just us. If that doesn't say different, I don't know what does in our world!)