Anniversaries....Inventories....Changing

Yesterday I got a text on my phone from my husband. It simply said:


"Today is my three-year anniversary."


Obviously a day of impact. He remembered. He noted. He shared it with others in the family.


On September 29, 2006, my husband was "let go" from his job of over 20 years. And what a journey it had been. That's another whole story. But for yesterday, it was a marker....an anniversary. I honestly admit I did not remember the exact date.


(note to self - don't hold it against him ever again if our wedding anniversary date slips his mind temporarily - a day of the biggest proportions - for women...) This was big to him but I did not remember the day.


I do remember being in the parking lot of a church dropping off my oldest son for football practice, and getting the phone call. He asked me if I was driving or stopped at the moment, - (stopped in the parking lot). He then relayed to me that he was being let go - immediately. (as in desk cleared out tomorrow morning, company truck turned in, escorted out of the building, all security ID passage rights removed from the building entries. What did we do???? We prayed and asked God's will to work for our best, and began to trust..... more....


Can't think of anything more appropriate we could have done than just that, as we were beginning a very unfamiliar, rough and emotionally tumultuous journey that day, and we were going to need to hold on very tightly to God to survive and be sustained.


Fast forward three years, to a text on my phone - yesterday. It made me ponder many things.


I was taking a self-inventory. Just for myself...about myself. Over the course of this journey, what have I learned? What has God taught me? How have I changed? Where am I still being stretched?



Am I a stronger woman of God because of all of this?


Am I a more supporting wife because of all that's happened?


Am I a better mom because of all the trials?


Am I an all-around changing, thriving, ever-growing warrior for God's kingdom because of what God has allowed in our family?


What do I see that I am so grateful for?


What do I see that I want to change for the better?


What do I know now....that I didn't know then?


Have we "arrived" yet? Are we at the end of this journey...on the threshold of another?

Is being on the particular path of a journey not of our choosing, just a little sidepath in life, waiting to get back on the "normal" main road of life.... or is it just another part of a rough terrain on the same path we have walked since we began our new walk in Christ Jesus ...on this earth?

I believe that God is always moving us from Point A - new birth, new life in Jesus Christ to Point B - completed life in Eternity with Jesus Christ. And that arrival at Point B is not nearly what He is focused on, as it is secured, it is a given in God's mind. It is the journey between Points A and B. How we walked. How we travelled. How we changed. How we looked to Him and looked for Him every day. Whether we gave it our all for Christ our Savior. Whether we ended up at the foot of the cross at the end of a tough day...a tough week... a tough month, every time. Alway coming back. Always walking, running, stumbling, crawling... whatever it took to get back to that homebase, to get the hope and faith and strength we needed to keep on.....keep on....moving towards Point B. Living for Christ. Dying to self. Trusting in God the Father and His love. Knowing that nothing rained down on us that had not first been lovingly sifted through His fingers. For Our Best.


This is what I pondered yesterday. This is my reality...in my heart. My head sometimes wrestles with my heart. I know what I see in the tangibles. The physical world I have to remain in and live in and deal with. But then, my heart and its security in the love of my God, resting in all that HE has revealed to me in His word, all that HE has shown to me in my spirit, all that HE has grown in me by His love and His work. That.....TRUMPS everything that my head tries to defeat me with.


And at the end of the day.....at the foot of the cross.... I revel in that. I remember. I take note.



And I share with others. Today. In this post.


An anniversary.


An Inventory.


Another day of change.


Rejoicing amidst the joys, the trials, the moments of life as we journey through this world ...most gladly.

God has created everyone of us with a unique purpose that only we can fulfill for Him, and His grace will see us through, and He will be waiting at the end of the journey to say..."Well done, good and faithful servant."




"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. " (II Corinthians 12:9)

Blessings as you walk your journey today,

Julie