change

(drafted Oct 27th)

Tonight we drove by our old apartment. Michael started reminiscing:

“We made snowmen in that field… and played baseball!”

My eyes welled up with a few tears.

Our home was so very tiny. It was adorned with dingy old furniture and even smelled musty no matter how much I’d clean. But it was ours, and we filled that little apartment with so many memories. It was our first home together.

Closing that door for the last time two and a half years ago ended a chapter in our newlywed life. We were finished with our undergraduate studies. There would be no more late nights studying or stressing about tests. That part of our life was over.

We opened another door by moving to a larger place. The extra room became Lelia’s for a semester that passed all too quickly. Another door closed when she graduated and moved away, but it was only a couple weeks later that we learned we’d be adding a baby to our family.

Deciding to have a baby closed the door to more schooling or any kind of career for me. I knew it was important to stay home with my daughter.

Kaya was born and a completely new part of my heart was opened. I can’t remember what it was like not to know this kind of love.

Maggie passed away, but her loss allowed us to adopt Jax.Nothing is as constant as change

All throughout our lives, we are opening and closing these figurative “doors”. It both exhilarates and frightens me. The choices we make each day are shaping our futures- who our friends are, what kind of people we’ll become, where we’ll settle down, and so on.

We’ve been doing it all along, but somehow, I’ve only just realized it. What amazes me the most is that even when one opportunity ended, there was always another just waiting to open up. Our Heavenly Father is always looking out for us. He’s there. He loves us, and He wants us to find joy in the journey of life.

I’m so grateful for today, because it was all the subtle changes of yesterday that got us here. We are stronger, wiser, and a little more thankful than we used to be.