Your Path to More

Almost exactly a year ago, Lucas and I were celebrating our anniversary with 24 hours in Indy. We ate a nice dinner together and stayed at a bed and breakfast 

(and made a mess with the waffle maker).

Our evening involved meeting up with some friends at the Cru Winter Conference. It was great to be in the thick of a ministry we support and to be energized by how God is at work. The speaker, Heather Holleman, gave an awesome talk on being seated with Christ (Eph 2:6), and I recently finished her book going more in-depth on that topic. 

Our bracelet for entry was this:

and I loved the multiple meanings of "Your path to more." I wore it for months (until I stretched it out too much), and I was often praying that I would have the grace to walk the path ahead of me. On January 1st, our anniversary, I was full of anticipation of all the "more" that 2020 would bring.  

Then January 2nd hit...

...and when Lucas went in for a routine wisdom tooth surgery, his jaw was accidentally broken, and he had to have his mouth wired shut for two months.

This is Your "more" for me, God? This is the path You have for us?

I kept praying and kept trusting.

To reach the MORE God has for me, I have to walk this path in front of me.

By the time Lucas went in for the final removal of all the wires (but leaving the metal plate and screws forever), it was mid-March, and COVID was in full swing.

On January 1st, I didn't know that my "path" would lead through...

    my husband's jaw getting wired shut

    his grandma passing away in March

    COVID disrupting everything we knew to be normal -- school, work, church, library, stores, play dates

    resigning from a "sweet spot" teaching job I loved to homeschool our boys

    my dad miraculously recovering from COVID with no complications

    not seeing my parents for half a year (after usually seeing them every month)

    going stir-crazy as an extrovert in a social distancing world

    questioning everything I know to be true and being in a tailspin of emotions

    missing the annual Christmas gathering at the farm

But I also didn't anticipate that the "more" would include...

    learning to trust Jesus for all I don't understand

    spending more time as a family than ever before

    re-discovering the great outdoors and all the awesome parks Lexington has to offer

    praying throughout the day because I was so dependent on Jesus to get me through

    enjoying simple pleasures like stopping to watch a worm on the sidewalk

    making discipleship in our home a reality, not just a talked-about, wished-for thing

    re-kindling a long-dormant desire to teach kids in China (I just didn't know it'd be from my computer)

    connecting with my husband in new ways as we walked hand-in-hand through the fire

    realizing more than ever how this world is not our home

    becoming friends and "mutual encouragers in the faith" with ladies around the country that I've never met

    choosing gratitude and contentment even when the world is upside down

What a year, what a year...

Through it all, I'm thankful. 

His path leads through the waters, rivers, and fire (Isaiah 43:2),

but He promises to be with us.

He promises that the rivers won't sweep over us.

He promises that we will not be burned by the fire (though it often felt like it).

And, as I learned this year, 

there is MORE on the other side.