ten

last night, joel and i completed our tenth session

of premartial counseling for a cool young couple,

kerith and jay. kerith was a high schooler

i mentored in my days of leading youth group.

she met jay in college.

they will be married in the end of april.

last december, joel and i celebrated ten years of marriage.

its been so amazing, the coinciding of these events in our life.

counseling kerith and jay was challenging and enjoyable,

and we hope and pray its making a difference for this couple.

they say it was far more significant

in their relationship than they anticipated,

but last night as they were thanking us,

we found ourselves realizing how significant it was for us...

not only did it cause us to

reflect on and dialogue about our own marriage

each time we read a chapter in our book

or prepared the evening discussion,

but it really allowed us to take a step back

and look at the big picture of our lives so far.

God has done so many things,

and we are so different ten years later.

yes, theres been many, many rich blessings

from committed family to enduring friends

to five fiery little children :)

but whats most amazing is how He has redeemed

so much of the struggle, the heartache, and the trials.

we sat there last night, trying prepare this newlywed couple

for that moment that will inevitably come.

the one where you ask yourself

"how did i get into this and is there a way out?"

alright, i'm not trying to be shocking here,

but if you've been married ten years,

you've thought this at least once, right...

even if it was only a passing thought :) ?

but once you remember this is what you signed up for,

and that the only real way out is through,

thats the place in which God really begins to work change in your heart.

and then one day, you find yourself having come through,

having been changed and made stronger because of it.

here we are, joel, and i, and yes, jonas...

celebrating our tenth anniversary in the same cabin we honeymooned in.