Hardscrabble Roads

And Here We GO!!!

When you both come from a broken home it makes for very large family units; and from the brokenness comes something beautiful…..more people to love, more people that care, more family. 

I'm no writer. I really have no business even writing a blog. Oh, I read blogs…..but never thought to write one……but that was before I knew we would be moving across the country with our one-year-old leaving our immediate families behind. I needed a way to keep Nana in California, and Aunt Brenda in Ohio, and Aunt Jan in Nevada, and the 8 grandparents in Ohio…yeah 8, that’s not a typo…and all the friends...and well, the list goes on and on. I needed a way to share photos and keep everyone updated on our new journey. When your child is the first grandchild on both sides, it leaves you with picture hungry Grammy’s and Mimi’s!  Fortunately, when you have your first child- there is no shortage of pictures snapped ….so rather than bombarding Facebook with more pics of my child and boring those that don't care…. my husband came home one day and announced we should start a blog for those that care, to follow.

OOOHHH, this could be fun….but um…..HTML??? HUH? Thank God for my BFF Jenna -- Major shout out here! She made this page come to life, and now we are here, up and running, posting our first entry into this little corner of the blogosphere. 

Hardscrabble roads?…..well, it has sentimental meaning; Aunt Brenda and Momma Julie will appreciate the name-……but really, that's not how the name came about.  This name came from a verse I read in the Bible earlier this past year. 

Didn’t he set us on the road to life?
    Didn’t he keep us out of the ditch?
He trained us first,
    passed us like silver through refining fires,
Brought us into hardscrabble country,
    pushed us to our very limit,
Road-tested us inside and out,
    took us to hell and back;
Finally he brought us
    to this well-watered place.

 I think when I look back over my life in the past 10 years, some of my most precious moments were born out of those bumpy roads I've had to travel. I have endured loss, pain, and hurt….and instead of it all seeming meaningless….I’ve been able to really find joy, peace, healing, and hope. My sweetest moments of joy have come out of hard times. I think when you walk IN Christ -- when he is more than just a religion in your life -- great things can happen. On those back country roads of life are where I have really met him the most. 

This new season of life is definitely going to be hardscrabble country in many ways for us. It's not wrapped in the perfect box we would have envisioned…..BUT, oh, and this is a HUGE but…..it IS wrapped with HIS fingerprints ALL over it. We see people excited about ministry, excited about their city, the people in it, and a heart to GO AND DO AND BE among the hurting. Justin and I are SO drawn to the ministry of the church he will be working for. This vision of living out and beyond ourselves has been birthing for a few years now…. and Christ Fellowship Miami really fits that God-carved-out hole that he created in us these last few years. 

So, we choose the road that will probably push us to many of our limits, that will road test us inside and out; but I am learning that I most often find the well watered place that I am really seeking….is usually found on those back roads that I wouldn't really ever choose for myself.