Journeying Together

I love using the 1SE app to put together a Year in Review audio visual piece. The process of creating this is always a spiritual practice of sorts for me: it helps me to look backward in gratitude for all the joy and goodness we experienced over the past year. It also serves as a reminder of some of the hard things we walked through and the faithfulness of God.

What you see is a 5 minute portrait of our lives, a carefully curated perspective showcasing precious moments with family, friends new and old, joy, happiness and blessings. And truly, all of these things are real. But what is NOT pictured is just as important: There was solo parenting through Covid in the midst of ending the school year and packing up to move to NC. There were fights with my husband. There were tears. There were not-so-steallar parenting moments (knowing better doesn’t always result in doing better). There were questions and wondering if we were going to make it; there was stepping out and risk involved. There was disappointment. There was the mundane, day-to-day stuff of life — filling up the gas tank, showing up at work when motivation was low, making meals, cleaning up, the never ending piles of dishes and laundry… all this and more.

It is with all this in mind that I chose the song The Story I’ll Tell for the backdrop of my 2022 in Review montage. I know it’s melancholy and not exactly the kind of song you would expect in the background of a fast-paced video diary. I tried to make myself pick another song, but I just can’t get away from this one. It’s so real. 2022 in New England truly starts off with very little daylight, and so the line “The hour is dark and it’s hard to see” rings true for me. Winter is a time of darkness, of burrowing inward, of hunkering down.

The lyrics continue, “Oh, but I know That down through the years
I’ll look on this moment and see Your hand on it And know You were here”. That is my prayer. Truly, my deep desire is that in all the good stuff and all the hard stuff this will be the story I tell: “My God does not fail. I know it is well.”

So friends, wherever you find yourself this season, may this song be an encouragement to you as it has been to me. And may God be your portion when it feels like there isn’t enough…

enough wisdom to figure out a way through, or even the next step…

enough strength to do all that is before you…

enough money to cover all the expenses…

enough love to cover the multitude of offenses…

enough patience to wait and be still…

enough trust to loosen your grip…

enough faith to show up…

enough hope to get up…

If you need someone to hold space for you or walk beside and hold out hope, I’d be honored to do so.