Finding the Good - There All Along

Lonny and I recently had the opportunity to drive past the first home we purchased.  We hadn’t been back for seventeen years.

In some ways, it was like stepping back in time. There was a swing in the same tree, on the same branch, where toddler Logan’s swing soared high. The fence Lonny built was still standing. And he flowerbeds that I started, all those years ago, stretched far over the front lawn.

We lived hard in that house. We learned to work through a crumbling marriage. We learned to pick up torn pieces and move on. We also learned to leave a few scraps on the ground.

 Some of the living was not all that good.

But there were precious things, too. And while sitting there, in front of that house, they came to mind in a sweet flood. I remembered holding our newborn son. Seeing a small boy, head dipped, plucking flowers for a bouquet. I remembered painting the house with Lonny, when times were turning better, both of us on ladders. I remembered the quiet times of learning to love one another better. And the most important thing that happened while we lived in that house:  finding grace, strength, and forgiveness in God’s love.

Life is like that, I’m learning. There are troubles. There can be tough, twisted times. The living can be hard. God doesn’t tell us we won't have struggles. But He does tell He’ll never leave. And if I look at my days, separated out, I can see His goodness. There are sweet, good gifts woven through the tough times.

Lonny and I pulled away from the curb.  His arm stretched over and his hand wrapped around mine. He smiled, and I smiled back.

We made it!        

And what a blessing – to see, when we look back, that He was there all along.

Thank you, God…