Wow, what a year it has been. One year ago today we started our journey to
Alaska. After driving for many days over
5,000 miles, we made it. Looking back,
it has been a whirlwind, but in the middle of it, some of the time seemed to go
so slowly. This has been a year filled
with blessings, yet steeped in loss.
During the past year I have said goodbye to two grandparents and three
angle babies that we did not hold here on this earth, but I know we will see
when we get to heaven. I have dealt with
crippling panic attacks, but have overcome them with the strength and grace of
God. We have gone through a year of
Bible college, Bryan was the student, and spent about 6 months “dating”,
getting to know, a mission organization.
We are now officially a part of that mission organization. Our family is now officially a missionary
family with Interact Ministries. During
this process we have made some awesome friends and developed wonderful relationships
with them. We have also found a great
church here in Alaska, Church on the Rock in Palmer. Three of our children were baptized by Pastor
Chris from Church on the Rock, Palmer, and I have recently been able to become
involved in worship ministry again.
There have been many more ups and downs; I don’t think I
could possibly list them all. Most
importantly, our relationship with God has strengthened exponentially. We have really had to lean on Him this year,
and that has really developed our relationships with each other, and with
Him. God has taught us so many lessons
this year. This year has been FAR from
easy, but God has brought us through.
Honestly, there were times when I would just cry out, “God, I don’t know
how to do this, or I can’t do this”, but God would always put His hand on my
heart and give me the Peace that can ONLY come from Him and tell me, “I know
you can’t, but I CAN. I’ve got this.”.
I love to listen to
praise and worship music, and there is a verse in one song that says, “When the
storm rages, I won’t be afraid, because I have locked eyes on You face to
face”. I love that song, but more
specifically that verse. The storms will
rage all around us, in every season of our lives. We have been in the middle of some crazy
storms this year, but we don’t have to be afraid, because when we keep our eyes
on His, we WILL NOT sink. We may feel crazy, and it may feel like the
water is starting to rise, but as long as we are with Him, we will NOT be overcome by any storm that this
world may throw at us.
I am so thankful for all that God has done in our lives this
year, both the joy and the heartache. It
is easy to rejoice and praise Him in the good times, but our strength is built
in the heartache. It is in the heartache
that God will lift our heads and remind us that He’s got this!!!
Thank you so much for your prayers and love this year. We ask that you continue to pray for us daily
as we seek to do His will in our lives.
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