Changes

"To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." Ephesians 4: 22-24 Life is full of changes. Some good. Some bad. Some are rewarding. Some are heart breaking. Some are day altering. Some are life altering. Change is a difficult place to be. Instilling change means that the focus of that change, whether its the way you spend the rest of your life or what you're eating for lunch that day, is not the same as before. Most people don't like change, myself included. I don't like for my patterns or habits to get disrupted. Change gets us out of our comfort zone but it also puts us in a place where we can see new, exciting things. Eleven years ago today, my life changed. It was new and exciting. Kati and I got married October 17th, 2009. That beautiful, cold day we said "til death do we part." With the health problems Kati had, I'd be lying if, in the back of my mind, I didn't think there would come a day that I'd outlive her. I just didn't think it would come so soon. Change is heartbreaking. We had almost nine years of marriage together. We saw alot of changes and experienced them all together. Some good. Some bad. Some rewarding. Some heartbreaking. The day I got married, I knew my life would never be the same. And that was ok with me. It wasn't easy. Change never is. But it was exciting. Looking back, it seems like I've had many significant changes in my life. Physical. Mental. Emotional. Surgeries. Marriage. Adoption. Losing adoption. Losing family members. Losing the love of my life. All of these things have been altering. Life changing. Some good. Some bad. Some rewarding. Some heartbreaking.

I "celebrate" another wedding anniversary today. This is the third one by myself. Some days are so life changing that you remember almost every detail. Some details will last a lifetime. Seeing Kati step out of the house and into the yard where we got married will be ingrained in my memories forever. Some changes are too significant to be forgotten. Throughout all these changes I know one thing remains the same. God is in control. As a Christian, I know that the biggest change in my life was when I made the decision to trust Him. However, God does not change. He is the "same yesterday and today and forever." As difficult as this season of change in my life has been and continues to be, I continue to trust Him and know that He is in control. It's not been easy. Change never is.

My earthly life has changed but my eternal life has not. Only God knows how the remainder of my earthly life will go. But I know how it will end. Salvation through faith has eternally changed my life. Because of the love and salvation given by Jesus Christ I know that I will spend eternity with Him and I will be able to see Kati again.