Tammy On Tuesday ~ I Once Was Young

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Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread.  Psalm 37:25

It’s hard to believe that in 3 days Mark and I will celebrate 22 years of marriage.  A lot of things are happening in my life that are indicators that I am no longer a young chick, namely having a child in college.  I joke a lot about feeling old.  Before you say anything, I know I’m not old.  I just feel old.

Last week I wrote about my kids and mentioned we were taking our oldest, Abby, to Liberty University to being her sophomore year of college.  I am very excited for her because Liberty is my alma mater.  So many memories and great friendships were made at Liberty.  One of the most important things that happened in my life while attending there was meeting my husband, Mark, my junior year.    

Last week when we arrived on campus we found ourselves constantly talking about the good ole’ days.  Poor Abby and anyone in earshot had to reminisce with us.  I literally founding myself talking to strangers, 20 year olds, about when I was 20 and attending Liberty.  Guess what?  They may smile and nod but they don’t care.  

While setting up Abby’s room we realized we needed a few things so we headed over to the mall right next to the campus.  Let’s just say, the mall needs a little help.  It’s small.  I believe they may be working on it or someone is taking it over and trying to revitalize it but that’s yet to be seen.  However, the visit to the mall for me was simply wonderful.  

Why?  

PINIMAGEWhen I was at Liberty, Mark and I had jobs at the mall.  We worked in a department store there called BELK. I couldn’t believe it when I saw that BELK was still there. I worked at the Estee Lauder makeup counter and he worked in the shoe department. We didn’t have cell phones. (By the way, there was no e-mail at that time and I wrote my college papers on a word processor….so, yeah, I’m old.) Anyway, when the evenings were slow, Mark would call me on the store phone and we would talk peering across the store at each other.  It seems like a lifetime ago, so how did we find ourselves now dropping our daughter, our offspring, off at college???…

Walking through the store, what struck me more than how old I feel, or how surreal it seemed that Abby was attending our alma mater, was the incredible faithfulness of our God.  Man, is He faithful!!!!  He’s just… so, so good!!

Over the 23 years that we have been together God has brought us through things like:

A broken marriage

A metabolic disease

Financial difficulty

A miscarriage

A scary delivery

3 biological children

1 additional member to our family 

11 years on the road

A church plant…

…I mean, how much time do we have?  I could go on and on.

But it’s not just what He’s brought us through.  It’s what He’s brought us to.  

He’s brought us to a greater understanding of His faithfulness, provision and purpose.  He’s brought us to a place where we do our best to never plan without Him because He ALWAYS knows best and doesn’t keep it to Himself.   In fact, our planning has usually been turned to prayers and waiting on God.  We always wonder what God will do next. 

He’s brought us to many Kingdom opportunities, where we can join Him at work.  He called us to a wonderful singing ministry for 12 years.  He prompted us to begin a church in our home and gave us an amazing church family to serve here in Delaware.  He continues to pour out not only more of Himself but more of His purposes through our lives.  He’s so, so good!

He truly keeps His promises. 

I have come that you might have life (John 10:10) – That’s God!  Giving life in the face of death and tears and difficulty and questions and fears and indifference.  

He is and always has been LIFE. He continues to be LIFE. 

We can attest to it!

This PINIMAGEmorning I woke up and the sun was casting a warm glow in my bedroom.  I went to the window and it was fogged up from the heat outside.  

I thought, “Isn’t that just like God?”  I can’t make out what’s on the other side of the pane.  I can only see the glow.  So it has been with life…so many things we had to just wait and see.  But the SON was always shining behind it all.  

There’s a blessing to walking by faith.  I am not sure how I would have felt back then to see all that was ahead of us.  But I serve and love a God that sees.  He always sees, always knows, always rescues those who cry out to Him. 

May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.  Colossians 1:11b-14  

Thank you, God, for always making good on Your promises.  Thank you for always being our Shelter.  Thank you for being patient with us in our stubbornness, fears and doubts.  Thank you for Your constant steadfast provision.  Thank you for Your presence even in the darkest places.