As my nephew Tim turns 10 today I’m reminded that it has been 10 years since we left Adelaide!! (I know, you’re all shaking your head in disbelief right now… I know I am…) Tim was born about a week after we left so his birthday always seems to remind me that another year has passed. 10 years though sounds like a long time… a decade… what can happen in 10 years?
I remember the last Sunday service at what was Pedare Uniting Church (now The Journey Uniting Church). Roger talked to us, and we acknowledged that we didn’t know what the future held, but we did know who held our future and that we were thankful that we “can do all things through Him who gives us strength” (Phil 4:13). It wouldn’t be life if we didn’t have our fair share of ups and downs…
Milestones… we’ve obviously celebrated a few birthdays here… I passed my 30th and I’m in the middle of them now… and this year Dave has decided birthdays should start with the number 4… (well he didn’t really get much say in that!) We’ve celebrated 5 years marriage, then 10 years… and now we approach our 14th anniversary this year (it seems like only yesterday… though to look at the photos we’ve clearly aged!).
Health… Wouldn’t it be nice if that was smooth sailing! I busted an ankle, ended up with a DVT…leading to ovarian cysts, discovery of endometriosis and as a result a few rounds of surgery. I’ve had a decent kidney infection and learned that I have only one working kidney (but it’s doing a good job), we’ve had decent rounds of food poisoning… but on the whole our health is good. We’ve been able to run a half marathon together so really we are doing okay. I can’t even begin to list the number and variety of illnesses and injuries (DAD!) family back home have had in that 10 years… over that time I’ve had to face the reality of thinking both of my brothers will die – and being geographically distanced from family, particularly at times like that, isn’t always easy (and Praise the Lord both are still here!).
Family… After Tim our family has welcomed another 4 nieces and nephews. They’re all wonderful and I’m not biased (well maybe I am a little)! The extended family has grown too! But with the good is the not as good… we’ve not had kids and we’ve said goodbye to a much loved Grandfather and Grandmother, seeing the end of that generation in our family on both Mum’s side and Dad’s side.
Work… We’ve both made changes to our careers. Dave left the world of software engineering, did post graduate study and ultimately his Doctorate and now works hard as an Academic. I went back to study (under sufferance…who likes study anyway!) and completed a second Bachelor Degree to become a Registered Nurse (and I love it!).
Location… We’ve called Jakarta and Brisbane home in that time and we’ve been privileged to be able to travel to various countries and continents in the world… Europe, Asia and America. I feel very blessed to call Australia home. I know that it’s not perfect, but despite its faults it really is a wonderful place to live.
10 years… Tim’s whole lifetime… some things change, some stay the same. I see more and more people confronted with the reality of life and death at work, and it’s a reality that we’ve had to face as a family in the last 18 months for various reasons. As I list all the aspects that make up life as I know it, the one that I’ve left off is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow… The same thing that I said 10 years ago can be said again today as it is still just as true. I don’t know what my future holds, but I know who holds my future. There is not a single step I take in life that I don’t journey it with a God who loves me unconditionally (in life’s ups and in life’s downs). While my relationship with Him also has its ups and its downs He’ll never leave me nor forsake me and I know I can always rely on that. So here’s to the next 10 years… who knows what they will hold in terms of milestones, health, family, work and location… but I know for sure that I don’t need to take a single step of the journey alone.
This is life... 
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