The Gift of Remembering.

Another kindness God has provided in this course is a biblical grid or lens to evaluate and analyze our past experiences - especially the last four very difficult and painful years that we experienced with our church and my health-validating the things we knew about God-his sovereignty and his purposes in our trials and suffering. 

We've been able to go back over the past few years, review and recount what was happening and trace God's hand in and on our lives - and see all the ways he was working, training, molding, discipling and changing us. Sometimes, in the middle of a trial, it's so hard to see beyond the pain and difficulty and we can be tempted to lose heart. Sometimes, it takes all your energy to just survive. 

Being able to think deeply and write about our experiences and see God's providential work in our circumstances has really been a gift to us. Ron is also taking the class and it is providing hours of wonderful conversation between us as we remember and rejoice in all that God did and is doing!

While the last four years were excruciatingly difficult - we can say with all honesty- we can count it all joy and are grateful for what God has done- and continues to do- in our hearts through that season.