Life Continues...Year Four.

After the Israelites left Egypt, generation after generation, the story of what God had delivered them from was told. Unintentionally, a similar occurrence has taken place from year to year in February in our life. No, we weren't physically delivered from slavery. No, the sea was not parted at the last minute to save us and no, we do not eat manna every morning, but still our story has impacted our life.
I will not repeat the stories of the events that played out to change our life, because those days have long since gone and since I have 5 followers on my blog (I am sure everyone is well aware of our story). ;) A little fact is that 4 years ago is when this blogspot all began (so feel free to flip back to older posts). In some ways, I feel as though 4 years ago, is when the clock on Jared's and my life reset.
"A Testimony Being Written" has been a way for me to look back and see where God has brought us through and to share, like the Israelites did, the mighty things that God has done in our life.
Year 4, Jared and I feel like we have just started to pick up our momentum. There has been such a peace that has come over us. We suddenly have felt at home and feel confident that we are just where we are supposed to be. This feeling has been foreign to us for our entire marriage. I had always felt a longing that we weren't right exactly where we needed to be. It left me wondering and searching. Don't get me wrong, this isn't complacency. We feel that God has brought us to a place that we are growing on a daily basis. The godly friends He has put in our life are challenging us and we are challenging them, our family relationships are strong, we love our church and have found our nitch in sports and other activities. We feel at peace with the career we are in. We are happy with the school Katelyn is at (yes, a public school, can you believe it?). Did you know that the last time Katelyn was hospitalized was 4 years ago and Titus has been virtually perfectly healthy? Financially, we are finding stability. Our rental home has rented out successfully for 4 years now. All is well and our cup runnith over.
This is where we are at in life. We are so grateful to be at this place in life, because at multiple points earlier, we never thought we would ever see these days. At several points, we couldn't see past the fog and we had nearly lost all hope. I am not ignorant to the cycles and seasons of life either.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
1There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
2a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

Through these four years, we have come to know His ways more vivid than ever. And it is evident that he is a good God and has our best interest at mind, even when we take a little detour through unclear/foggy times. I know that 1 of my 5 followers might have a critical thought, "Wow, they are bragging about their good life." To that, I would say, "I BOAST IN THE LORD AND THE GOOD THINGS HE HAS DONE!"
And just as the Israelites went on to overcome new forms of slavery, faced over sized giants, at times wandered longer than they would have desired, so we will. For that reason, we will stop to remember what God has brought us out of, and this will continue from generation to generation.