Embrace the Circus

Here I raise my Ebenezer;

Here by Thy great help I’ve come;

And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,

Safely to arrive at home.

-- Robert Robinson

Two years ago today we rejoiced, reunited.

And today we rejoice again, marveling not only at the way time passes so much more quickly on this side of a deployment, but also -- and more importantly -- at the faithfulness of our God. He brought us through the deployment and Madeline's arrival and then from Hawaii to a new home (a house and a church) and grew our family to include a sweet, chunky little boy. And though not every moment has had the giddy exhilaration of a midnight reunion where the dust of Iraq mingled with Oahu's orchid leis and freshly washed, still sleepy babes, every moment has been -- every moment is -- gift.

But it's easy to forget that in the dailyness of life. Buried in laundry and discipline and dishes, I forget to lift my eyes, to see the enormity of what my God has done for me. I need, like Samuel to build a monument, to mark the victory:

Samuel then took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer (which means “the stone of help”), for he said, “Up to this point the Lord has helped us!” (1 Samuel 7:12)

And so today we pause -- still buried in laundry and discipline and dishes -- to say, "up to this point the Lord has helped us!" Grateful for all He has already done in our lives, we have every confidence that His great love and mercy will be as evident in our future as it has been in our past. How blessed we are.