Darrel,
Life is a book, chapters written and chapters to be written. This week you close a chapter and begin a new one. My deepest desire and heartfelt prayer is that the years ahead would be more fruitful and life giving that all the years past. I believe that the best is yet to come.
I have known you for almost half of your life. The past nineteen years of life have been full of ups and downs.
In 1995, we met during a church plant and served on the worship team. Our first friends were others from Cornerstone Church of Port Republic. Our pastor admonished us about the dynamics of dating while being in ministry together. We assured him that we “didn’t even like each other, we were just friends.” Yet, we spent every possible moment together. I knew very early in our relationship that we were going to get married. It was just matter a fact.
In 1996, we went on our first mission trip to Haiti together. Later that summer, we married. 450 of our closest friends and family members joined us. We both love people and our big day was reflective of that. I think if we were to get married today, we’d be hard pressed to narrow our guest list down to 1,000. God had blessed our lives with many rich relationships.
In 1997, we were living in Lynchburg while I attended Liberty and you climbed up the Advance Auto Parts management ladder. We spent our first anniversary in Haiti. By December of that year, we realized that our first child was on the way.
1998 brought us back to the valley, our hearts longed to be near family and our church body. In August of that year, our beautiful firstborn turned our world right-side-up. We both fell in love with Brandt from the first moment we laid eyes on him. Our lives would never be the same. The night we brought him home we stayed awake for hours, checking on him and making sure he was still breathing.
In 2000, we discovered that two more boys were on the way! We were overwhelmed. I spent most of the year sick, sick, sick. Brandt was a toddler and he declared, long before the doctors or ultrasound, “two babies.” That spring, you watched as someone ran a red light and hit the car carrying me, Brandt, and we later discovered, those two precious babies. God spared the lives of your entire family that night.
2001 brought more changes that I can recall. We welcomed two more beautiful boys into our family. Carson and Jordan brought more joy to our hearts and life was a flurry of non stop diaper changes, feedings and sleepless nights. We moved into Dad’s house just weeks before the twins were born, bought our lot, picked out our house, moved in that summer, said good-bye to some of our dearest friends and mentors, and came to a place of decision like no other. You changed jobs that year, so that you could be home more. We took a $10,000 pay cut, but we never went without the things we needed. Looking back, we know that it is by God’s grace alone that we navigated the year 2001.
2002-2012 was a decade full of joy and sorrow, ups and downs, victories and defeats, courage and fear, hope and crushing disappointments. We navigated the waters of family life, ministry, and work. We chose to home school our boys in 2007, bringing them home so that we could enjoy the best of their days with them.
In the middle of that decade, God mercifully crossed our paths with Life Partners Christian Ministries. We were at a make it or break it point in our marriage and in His own sweet way and in His own sweet time, He provided us with tools and relationships that carried us through. The journey has been painful and there are many times we didn’t know if we would make it to another August 10 anniversary, but by God’s grace and the faithfulness of our leaders, we are still here. Together. That is by far the biggest miracle of all.
2013 is here. You continue to wear more hats that I can list. Most days I worry that you are going to fall over, exhausted from home school, building the addition and working forty hours a week. I urge you to slow down and take care of yourself, because there are many who will need you for a long time!
I believe that the best is yet to come. We have made our share of mistakes and my prayer is that we learn from those and move forward. Our world is full of people who need to know the love of God. You belong to Him and you carry within you the power and authority to change our world. I need you. Our sons need you. Our families and friends need you. Your life has impacted more lives than you will ever know. And still, I believe the BEST IS YET TO COME! More of His fruit is going to spring forth in your life.
I Love You,
Heather
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