2016: A Milestone Year for Me

It is that time of year again: the end of it. And 2016 was in many ways a milestone year for me. I accomplished two really critical steps that were necessary for me in my 23rd year:

Milestone #1: Move out of my parent’s house.

After graduating college I obliged my parents by moving back into the downstairs guest room to save some money and hopefully get a job. The Lord provided work and I began to chip away at my college debts. It was a great arrangement for the two years that I lived there—and the food was fantastic.

But once I had some money set aside it was becoming high time to grow up a little bit and move out. I was getting old, and living at home did not necessarily inhibit my natural inclination to slothfulness. So thanks to my Aunt and Uncle, I got a good deal to rent from them and quickly jump to milestone #2.   

Milestone #2: Get married to Montana.

I proposed to my wife October 30, 2015, so this was in the works for a while. Perhaps, my wife will argue, it was in the works for too long of a while. But either way on June 18, 2016, I married Montana and we have been going strong for over six months now. We have been learning a lot, figuring it out one step at a time.

I remember asking a friend from college who was recently married something I asked most newly-weds at that time in my life. First: “How is marriage?” And second: “would you recommend it?” I had always wanted to get married, but some real life testimonies were always helpful for me to prepare for the “other side” I knew so little about. His response to my first question: “Marriage is very sanctifying.” Emphasis on the “very.” (I do not think he even answered whether he would recommend it or not!)

Yikes. “Sanctifying” sounded terribly ominous to my single ears. Because as I have discussed throughout this blog (here and here), sanctification often involves considerable pain. Sometimes it requires cutting away the dead branches or turning up the flames scorching hot so the silver will be purified. Sometimes it involves pounding unformed metal into something that will eventually have some use.   

Now that I have been married for a few months (and though I still know so little about it) I will agree with my friend. Marriage has been “sanctifying” thus far. But it has also been a blessing and a joy. It has been stretching and the millennial problem known as “adulting”(becoming an adult) has not necessarily been the easiest—but it has been rewarding too.

And as I stop and look back over 2016, I am incredibly thankful for God’s provision. I am now living on my own. I am now married to a beautiful woman. Our families are both near by, and all our needs are met and more. The Lord has sustained us thus far, and through every change he faithful has remained. I do not expect that to change in the future.

Yes we have a long way to travel, and yes we might not have too clear a picture of the road before us—but as we trust in the Lord with all our hearts, it is my prayer that God will direct our paths and make us useful for His Kingdom. It is my prayer that God will indeed establish the works of our hands and enable us to make the most of the time given us.

What is next for Montana and me? I am not quite sure! But that is the fun part.