A Decade of Faithfulness

As a person under 30, it’s easy to say that the last decade has been the most formative for me thus far. The first half of the decade consisted of me wandering on my own and floundering over and over again. It felt liberating initially, but soon I was more confused than when I began. Thankfully, God was patiently pursuing me the whole time. My stumbling helped me see Him for who He really was, a kind and faithful God who actually wanted ME. My former ideas of constant striving and perfection were coming undone and being replaced by a real, palpable relationship with a Person.

I remember the new year of 2015 quite well. I was filled with the hope that comes from surrender and new vision. I didn’t know it at the time, but that new year was a launching pad for the next five years and all they would encompass. I began encountering likeminded people everywhere I looked, and I was encouraged and mentored. I finished my first, and hardest, year of teaching. I was set up on a blind date with a man who had just gone through a similar time of transformation. Five months later we were engaged, and four months later we were married. Marriage taught us about grace and love walked out in the flesh. We began learning what ministry looks like in our homes and at our work places. We were given the opportunity to teach together, and we found an even deeper connection as we encountered the same obstacles and victories in our own classrooms. We learned how to persevere through times of trial and hold on to what is most important. We learned that God was the one who qualifies, and the enemy is a liar who seeks to disqualify us. We learned to listen to our Father. In 2019, God guided us through a move back to our north AL roots after learning so much from our Auburn, Opelika, and Smiths Station families. We were both given jobs that would continue to help us walk out our calling of helping others. This move was the biggest leap of faith for our family thus far. During the transition, we spent over three months living out of suitcases, an RV, a wash house, a garage, and our parents’ houses. Five days before Christmas, we moved into a house and a community perfectly suited to us. The last year has been both the hardest and the most rewarding thus far. I can look back and say that God has been faithful at every turn. I wouldn’t have known this as fully without the thrilling leaps we took this past year. He has worked it all for good, and I know He will do the same in 2020.