After a wonderful weekend of being reminded of all that God has done and reading through this blog, I have decided to continue it. If not for anything else, to keep a picture journal that I can always look back on. Its crazy how fast you forget isn't it?!
My oh my... so much has happened in 5 years!!! Lets see..we moved from Ohio to Georgia...
we started a church and have followed God through the Good, Bad, Hard, and Harder...
we moved 3 times all in a 10 mile radius...
we home-schooled the boys and then moved into public school and Layla went to Pre-K...
Matt is now pastor, teacher, wrestling coach, student,and one AMAZING Daddy...
the kids have participated in basketball, brazilian jiu-jitsu, golf, ballet and gymnastics...
We have left many close friends and made many new ones...
We got to witness new life...
We were blessed to travel and see lives being transformed...
We got to love on a precious little newborn for a few weeks....
We have laughed alot and we have cried ALOT!
We have watched our boys become the most loving, giving, compassionate little fellas on the planet.
We can now write a book...maybe many books on Attachment and Trauma Disorders..and I can probably name all the therapists in our community and a few more. We have had three years filled with words like Autism, Aspergers, Mood Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Oppositional Defiance Disorder, Reactive Attachment Disorder, and Sensory Processing Disorder, but have been so blessed to get to know some of the strongest, most genuine, caring child/family advocates EVER! We have watched as our sweet Layla has struggled to overcome the voice of the enemy...rejection, abandonment, fear...and have had the absolute priviledge and blessing of having a front row seat at God's REDEMPTION taking place in our living room. A front row seat as she is beginning to learn to listen to the voice of God inside her...its's the little things.... "Are you ok, Daddy?" she asked when Matt hurt his back. "Can I help you Mommy?" as I do laundry. It's the hugs, the snuggles, the I love you's, I'm sorry's, "I'll try again tomorrow" It's her love for orphans, the poor and her birth country. It's that deep hillarious belly laugh that WILL make you laugh even on the worst day. It's the sound of her sweet small voice as she recites The Lord's Prayer.
I sit on the front row and watch my boys love.. REALLY LOVE...not the easy kind of love...the HARD kind of love. The love that gives when you don't get anything in return. The love that puts others needs in front of yourself. The love that goes above and beyond your years. The love that forgives over and over again. The love that perserveres even on the hardest days. The kind of love that it takes many a lifetime to learn. The kind of love that ONLY comes from God! The hardest days make the good days so much sweeter.
MY, how are lives have been FOREVER changed. Changed for the better. Changed for HIS GLORY so that His power may be revealed. It is HARD...really hard, but I would not have it any other way. When God changes you..the process is never fun, never easy, and it usually never happens overnight. It's the journey. The journey of reliance completely on Him. The journey of giving up control. The journey of transparency and vulnerability. The journey of sacrifice. The journey of His strength being made perfect in our weakness. The journey of laying down our desires for His. The journey of hanging on when everything inside of you wants to let go. The journey of forgiveness. The journey of setting aside our "good" for His best. The journey of living by faith and not by sight. The journey of trusting even when it doesn't make sense. The journey of saying "YES" wherever God leads. The journey of realizing this world is not our home and living in such a way that our lives SCREAM that to everyone willing to take a look. It is then and only then that we fulfill our purpose for this generation.
If we knew then, 5 years ago, what we know now, would we have said Yes? I pray that we would have. I never would have dreamed this is where we would be, but its so much HARDER and so much BETTER than I could have ever imagined. Funny how God works like that huh?! How can something be good and hard at the same time? When God is changing you through it THAT IS HOW ... and when you take a look around... and know this is what you were created for!
~Kristy
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