Ivan: Nine years ago today, I almost lost my wife. And nine years ago, God showed incredible mercy and grace to me and Grace. It’s still hard for me to capture in words what these past nine years have been like for me—what they’ve felt like. To say that they have been “challenging” seems a gross understatement; and yet, I’ve also never felt more keenly the presence and power of God. He is the Everlasting One, the Creator of all things, who had written down in His book every single day of my and Grace’s lives before we were even born. And He has proven Himself more than faithful, lavishing grace upon grace to us, walking with us every moment of every day. He has taught me so much about Himself, and about who I am before Him—who He created me to be. Through every sorrow and difficulty that these nine years have brought, God has been impressing more and more upon my heart the beauty of this truth: that He is “the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:26). There is no greater joy in this life or the next than to walk closely with the God who created you; to worship Him and delight in His goodness, wisdom, and sovereignty. As the prophet Jeremiah famously said:

Grace: As a writer and counselor, I keep many journals simultaneously. One of them is a 5-year journal. It contains 365 pages, with a different prompt for each day of the year, and space on each page to both respond and observe how my responses change over time. I love this journal because it helps me pay attention to how God is working in our lives. As I observe my responses over the past few Decembers – and especially consider how December is not just the month of my initial accident, but has also subsequently been a month where God allows other trials into our lives – I’m impressed by the realization that this is not the only way of describing this season. December has also been the month of some amazing new beginnings and answered prayers. Two years ago, it was the month where I began weaning off seizure medication after we realized I’d been miraculously healed from seizures. Last year, it was the month where I started exploring San Jose after getting my driver’s license back – the fruit of successfully getting off all that seizure medication and waiting the requisite amount of time to demonstrate to doctors and the DMV that my seizures were indeed gone.

So, as we pause to note what has become a sober personal anniversary for our family, it also seems appropriate – and fitting on the heels of yesterday’s post – to note the prayers God has continued answering in our lives, often beginning with small steps of faith. And for these answered prayers we are very grateful.

See you tomorrow!