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Thursday, May 10, 2012

The Adventure that is Life

"Life is an adventure."
That is what my grandfather said to me months ago after our miscarriage and subsequent struggles. It struck a chord with me then, and it has stayed with me for the past months. I have realized that this quote has never been more accurate a description for our life. The past year has held so many ups and downs, laughter and tears, grief and excitement, and so much more. I am not sure God could pack more into one year.
In the past year we had a miscarriage, followed by a second loss (chemical pregnancy), and in October we found out we were expecting again. Then 10 weeks in we got to hear our precious little girl's heartbeat. I will never forget the relief I felt when we heard that wonderful sound. 10 weeks later we got to see her and name her Ellia. Ellia means the Lord has answered, and her name could not be more fitting. We prayed hard for this little girl and He answered us.
During this time I had finished graduate school and began looking for a job as a school counselor. I had an interview for my dream job and did not get it. Instead, I took a low paying, but fun job as a para at a local middle school. I grew to love those kids and I am glad that I've been able to keep in touch with them. I applied for a job at Purdue, not expecting to get it and to our surprise, I did. I am amazed at how much I enjoy my job and God has placed me in a position that will allow me to work from home some after Baby E makes her debut.
On top of all of this Greg also took a new position at a local bank and began working normal hours with a consistent paycheck. For the first time in our marriage we were finally able to start saving money to purchase something big, something really big. Last month, we bought our first home. The home where we will raise Baby E and hopefully some of her siblings. Oh and for over a month we had a teenager living with us while he figured out some family issues.
So to tally that is: 1 graduation, 3 job changes, 1 successful pregnancy, 1 new puppy, 1 new house, 1 extended visitor, and numerous other ups and downs.
We had both been praying that God would move us into a time of blessing, I just hadn't expected that God would throw everything at us at once. I am immensely grateful for His grace and patience during this stress filled last year. God's provision has been so evident over the past year, and yet at times I still let everything overwhelm me. I have to constantly remind myself to focus on what he has done for us, but at the same time remember that it is not about what He does for us, it's about who he is and how he changes us to make us more like him. To build character in us. It's not always pleasant, but in the end it is always worth it. The last 5 years have been nothing short of an adventure.
I have to end this post by thanking God for providing an amazing husband to lead and walk beside me during the past 5 years. Our anniversary is this weekend and I am just overcome with thankfulness for the man of God that Greg is. I don't know how to end this post with anything other than thanking God for His provision and grace over the last year.