Photo by Walter

Have you ever had expectations for the future and then have them not play out in the way you had hoped or dreamed? I’m afraid in the current environment this has become much more the norm for many of us.

When Tom and I started The Romantic Vineyard our children all lived within 25 minutes of us, we had two (one-year-old) granddaughters, we owned a business where Tom had worked since 1982, I had been working on my book for eight years thinking I’d never live to see it published, we were primarily caring for marriages of those we knew and loved from our local church where we had been members since it’s beginning in 1985. Life was full and quite satisfying, I might add.

Today is our 4th blogiversary, and in these four short years our life has changed quite a bit in ways we never expected.

One of the most difficult was watching our daughter and son-in-love pick up and move to Atlanta with their family a year and a half ago. Tom and I have always told our children they need to discover where it is God wants them to go. They can’t base their future on what pleases us, as much as I would love that! They need to follow God’s will for their lives, and it has been a good move for them.

Change is hard, especially when you don’t see it coming.

But if we believe God is sovereign over all the circumstances we face, we know there is good in store for us in one way or another. It’s not always obvious right away, but knowing it’s coming gives hope in the midst of the challenges.

I know this is a strange way to celebrate our 4th blogiversary, but this has been a strange year for us. We are working on a special project that isn’t quite ready yet, but will be soon. We think you’ll like it too! In the meantime, we thought you might enjoy looking back at how we celebrated our past blogiversaries.

Thank you all for the way you have encouraged us, made us laugh, cry and think hard on how to answer difficult questions. Walking with you through The Romantic Vineyard is a privilege we don’t take lightly. We love what God is doing and pray He will continue to help us do this in a way that glorifies Him.

Third Blogiversary

Second Blogiversary

First Blogiversary

How is God helping you face changes you never thought would come? Have you found some of the good in the change? Or are you still waiting for it?