Dear Family & Friends, December 2022
This year. This year has flown by. Trips to Montana, Key West, Chattanooga, California, Yellowstone, Bahamas, St. Augustine, Cloudland Canyon, the GA/FL Game, and Black Rock State Park all seem like a blur. I had to actually scroll back through my photos of the year to remind myself of all it has held.
Weston has had a rough year of
sports injuries, illness, and weird disappointing circumstances. I’ve watched
him face each trial with maturity. I’ve watched him get back into the game with
dogged determination. I’ve watched him cast his cares on the Lord and lean into
the truth of Jesus for his support. I’ve watched him bloom, making new friends,
trying new things, doing hard things. Now 13 with a set of new braces this
year, he continues to improve as a midfielder in soccer and as one of two
bassoonists in the band at the middle school. He makes good choices. He honors
his parents. We are so proud of the young man of God he is seeking to be.
Savannah has had a year full of firsts! She ended up voted MVP of her first-ever volleyball club season team. Starting high school this year, I’ve watched her weigh her options and make balanced, thoughtful choices. She works hard in her honors academics. She makes wise choices to balance her life responsibly between school, friends, and her ever-increasing babysitting jobs. With her learner’s permit in hand, she has also proven to be a trustworthy and capable driver so far. Most importantly, I’m watching her open her Bible on her own and start to seek the Lord personally. She’s making her relationship with Jesus her own, which makes my heart sing. So proud of who she is inside and out.
As for me, well, I haven’t blogged much recently because this new season of being a stay-at-home mom of teenagers is quiet during the day, then helter-skelter after school. My main job for now is chauffer, which won’t last forever, so I’m not complaining, and I’m soaking up every minute of time driving the kids around to all the things.
I’m asked often how I feel about the transition from California to Georgia. To be fair, it’s like comparing apples and oranges. I like them both. They are completely different experiences. My life looks completely different now than it did for the previous seven years. For me, it has been 18 months of change, grief, adjustment, adaptation, and now the process of acceptance and embracing the joys of this new life.
I’m reminded often of the concept of God’s Waiting Room and what it looks like to live life in the In-Between or the Middle. California felt like a roller-coaster ride of adventure to me. I fully enjoyed every moment. The highs and the lows carved themselves on my heart. Life in this season in Georgia is much quieter in all the areas. Steady. The highs and lows not quite so extreme. And that is something to be grateful for!!!
We have settled our family at Stonebridge Church, soaking in the scripture being taught from leadership, fellowshipping with sweet believing friends who love Jesus with their whole lives. I began leading a BSF group (bsfinternational.org) for the first time this year, and it has kept me humble and buried deep in God’s Word. The women in my group have been a blessing I didn’t know I needed. Studying the Old Testament kings and prophets has been a journey I didn’t know would be so convicting and rewarding.
So maybe that’s the current story of our lives being written here in Georgia—We’re living in the blessings we didn’t know we needed. I didn’t know I needed growth in the disciplines of stillness, silence, and solitude. I’m still learning how to appreciate them (LOL!) I didn’t know having a pool in the backyard would create opportunities for family bonding, or that having a body of blue water near would comfort my heart’s longing for the ocean just a little. I didn’t know that living under the ever-changing canopy of hardwoods in our neighborhood would bring me so much joy and a sense of security. I didn’t know I was thirsty for a church where the scriptures were explained verse by verse. I didn’t know I missed the depth and challenge of BSF to live wholly devoted to the Lord. I didn’t know my kids would blossom in public school. I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I still don’t.
So, I’m challenged to live this life of the In-Between major milestones in such a way that still honors the Lord. I’m challenged to continue to make daily choices that are right and good and in-line with God’s ways, taking regular daily steps toward Jesus on this steady part of my journey. The discipline of being consistently faithful and committed when life feels a little less stressful is actually more of a challenge than I anticipated. Apathy and distractions are real obstacles to overcome.
But recognizing where you are in life is half the battle. Jesus meets you exactly where you are every time. High, low, and all the places in-between, He is faithful, steady, and present. Like His continual reminders to an ever-straying Israel, He is relentless in His love for me and my family. He is relentless in His love for you as well.
Maybe you’re like me, and this letter finds you in the middle of a season of In-Between. In between schools, jobs, decisions, achievements, relationships, so many things where you find yourself simply waiting, not really knowing what to do with your time, talents, or energy. If this is you, be encouraged you’re not alone. God has not forgotten about you. He’s not put you in a waiting room because He doesn’t know what else to do with you or for you. Quite the opposite! He knows exactly what He’s doing, and He’s always working whatever it is for your good, your abundant good.
So maybe the best gift you can give Jesus this Christmas is to just trust Him. Trust Him in the waiting. Trust Him in the In-Between. Trust Him with open hands and a surrendered heart. He sees you, and this time of waiting is a precious opportunity for you and Him to get to know each other better. You never know how long this season will last—weeks, months, or years. Will you determine to be faithful, loyal, and true to the God who sent His only Son to be your payment for sin’s price on your head?
That first Christmas long ago was a milestone in the life of eternity—our Savior, our Creator, born in human flesh. But he spent the next 30+ years living on earth, here with us, in the middle, in the in-between, growing, learning, being human, and remaining faithful to the call of His Heavenly Father on His life. That 30+ years must have felt like the longest Waiting Room, part of Him knowing what was coming already. I’m grateful my Jesus knows exactly how I feel and perfectly understands each season of life I experience. May you and yours find comfort and joy this season in that truth as well.
Merry Christmas from our family to yours,
Joey, Jennifer, Savannah, & Weston Durham
The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.
2 Chronicles 16:9
