ddykema5@gmail.com

Jun

2019

Words for the Bride and Groom

On June 14, 2019, Danielle and Aaron were married. It was a beautiful and God honoring day. These are the words that I shared with them during the reception.

Family and Friends, thank-you so much for coming and making this day in the lives of Danielle and Aaron so special. You all have had a part in these two becoming the people that they are today. Thank-you for your part in their lives.

On November 30, 1991, Dave and I were married. After our good friend, Eric Mounts, pronounced us husband and wife, Dave and I walked out of the auditorium and into the foyer. At that moment, Dave started crying. I had never seen him cry before and I thought, “What’s wrong? Does he not want to be married?.” I have come to find out that Dave cries only at the big events in our lives, weddings, graduations, and I cry at all the little events in between.

Aaron and Danielle,

This has been a wonderful first day in your life together as husband and wife. Your marriage ceremony was God honoring and very worshipful, just as God meant for it to be as a symbol of our marriage as the church to Christ. Thank-you for leading us in worship during your beautiful wedding ceremony.

Aaron, we have been praying for you for 22 years. We didn’t know who God would send into Danielle’s life, but we knew the kind of young man we wanted God to send. We have been praying for a young man who loved God with his heart, his soul, his mind, and all his strength. We have been praying for a young man who would be a gentleman and a gentle leader for this special daughter of ours. We have been praying for someone who is kind, thankful, respectful, and thoughtful, a hard and dedicated worker who will provide for Danielle, and someone who follows Christ no matter the circumstances in life.

You, Aaron, are that answer to our prayers. Thank-you, Dan and Resa, for raising this wonderful young man. Aaron, we are so excited to welcome you into our family. Being the oldest like Danielle, you are also the guinea pig. Being in-laws is new for us, but we will happily practice on you. We may try to convert your allegiance, but if you remain an Ohio State fan we will still love you. We never want to take the place of your parents, but we would be honored if you would now call us “Dad and Mom.”

Danielle, what a treasure you are to our family. We have been preparing for this next chapter in your life for 22 years. I have tried to teach you how to cook, how to clean, how to work hard, how to care for your family, and most of all how to serve and love our Savior. I have not always done everything right, but it has been a joy to raise you and nurture you. Remember our first conversation about boys. We talked about how important it was to save your heart for that right young man. You were 12 when we had that conversation. My goal has been to model and teach to you how to be “virtuous woman who is far above rubies” taken from one of my favorite passages in Scripture, Proverbs 31. So we went and got your ears pierced and I gave you ruby earrings to help you remember how important that was. When you were 16, we went to the Dodge house and talked more about boys and what you should look for in a husband and made a list of the those qualities. We also talked about how important purity was. For about 8 weeks, we sat on the back veranda of the Dodge house and every time we sat there I reminded you that you were a princess and how valuable you were. We gave you a ruby ring to again remind you how important purity of heart and body is and also to once again remind you that “your value is far above rubies.” It has been fun to look at your pink fuzzy notebook and see the list of qualities you wanted in your future husband. Aaron, you have all those qualities, even the blue eyes.

Just last week, Danielle, we had another conversation about being a virtuous woman and I gave you a ruby necklace. The next step is for you to not only be a virtuous woman but also a virtuous wife. “Your value is above rubies.”

Aaron and Danielle, as you start this next lifelong chapter in your lives, remember how much your family loves you. We are always here for you. Aaron, as you love Danielle like Christ loves the church she will be as Solomon says “a crown to her husband.”

Jun

2019

One Memory at a Time

Twenty-two years ago I held you in my arms for the first time. What a wonderful day that was. And to be honest at that point, 22 years seemed like forever.

When I held you in my arms twenty-two years ago, I was still a newlywed having only been married for 5 years. 22 years seemed like forever.

Now in two short days, I will be watching you pledge your love and devotion to Aaron. Where have the twenty-two years that seemed like forever gone?

They went one day at a time, one memory at a time.

How can I feel such joy and sorrow at the same time? I am so excited for you and for Aaron and all that God has planned for you.

I am sad that the years that I have had you under my roof are now memories.

I want you to know that I don’t think either of us would be happy if you still lived here at 40. That has never been what I have wanted.

I am sad that the twenty-two years that seemed like forever have now slipped through our fingers never to be held again.

The beauty of this is that I am filled with such mixed emotions. Our relationship is sweet and so very precious to me. The sadness that I feel represents the beauty that exists between us.

The memories are sweet.

I remember your first smile, when you laughed, when you first started crawling and walking. I remember when you said, “I love you, Mommy.”

I remember when you asked Jesus into your heart.

Every time we went to the playground, you introduced me to your new friend. There was always a new friend to be had wherever we went. When we went to the grocery store, you wouldn’t stop saying “hi” until the other person acknowledged you and said “hi” back.

You participated in gymnastics, swimming, soccer, and finally found your passion for skating. Now that passion has turned into a passion for teaching others to love skating like you do.

Ever since you were little you have had a heart for others and a heart for serving others.

I watch you disciple others, encourage others, write notes to others, seek to bring out the best in others and my heart swells with pride as I realize how blessed I am that God gave you to be my daughter.

You will always be my daughter, but you have become so much more. You have become my friend.

On your wedding day, I will celebrate with you all of God’s rich blessings as you marry Aaron. It will be a wonderful day as you begin the next chapter of your life. You will be a beautiful bride.

May God bless you both in this next chapter of your lives. Keep treasuring each moment. Hold on to the joys that come each day and learn from struggles. Keep God first each and every day.

I love you Danielle and could not be more proud of the godly young lady you have become. I am excited for you and Aaron and the next chapter that is to come.

May

2019

Enjoy the Everydayness

I have been busy living life. Do you get that way? The girls are home from college for the summer and Danielle, our oldest, is home for six weeks before her wedding. I love having the house full, a full refrigerator, and the many spontaneous conversations. They are working on furniture projects in the barn, baking, and cooking. We are training for a triathlon together. It is fun to share how our progress is coming together.

What I love the most is the everydayness of life with them being home.

Are you tired, Mom?

There are many moms out there that are tired of the everydayness of life. They are tired of all the meals, the laundry, the cleaning, the travels to sporting events and music events, or trying to organize end-of-school parties or birthday parties.

There are many epic moments, but there are so many every day moments. With my daughters all being away at college, what I miss the most is the everydayness.

Those moments are what teach them the most.

They learn when I make them their favorite meal that they are special and important to me.

They learn how to sacrifice when I sacrifice my sleep to make sure they have breakfast before leaving for the day. They learn sacrifice when I change my schedule to make sure we spend time together.

They learn how to work and get a job done by working with us on projects around the house or helping to clean up after meals.

They learn the value of intentional conversation when we sit on the kitchen floor and talk about the things that are important to them, even if it is time for me to go to bed.

I have opportunities to teach about their identity in Christ and how they gain value because of what Christ did for them when I take time to ask the right questions and really listen to their answer.

I miss the everydayness

I miss driving them to their various activities and the different memories we made along the way. The random places we would stop at and have an adventure. The spontaneous conversations. The funny observations they made when they looked out the window.

I know that the everydayness of life gets tiring when you are in the midst of it. It seems so long before you will be able to sleep in and have a leisurely Saturday morning, BUT…

When they leave and start having a life of their own and they don’t need you as much, YOU WILL MISS THE EVERYDAYNESS.

Don’t wish it away

Rather than wishing away the mundane of today, look at it as a treasure that you will never get back. Hug them more. Make them their favorite meal. Ask them questions that make them offer more than a “yes “or “no” answer.

Jesus discipled in the everydayness

There is no better way to disciple our children than in the every day. Jesus spent three years living with His disciples. They walked together. They talked together. They ate together. They fished together. They lived life together. Jesus did many amazing things that we read about in Scripture, but “there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” (John 21:25). Jesus taught His disciples in the epic moments. He also taught them in the everydayness of life.

“Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9). I am now enjoying the benefits of the “not giving up.” The truth of the matter is, we must never give up. As I look at the next decades to come, relationship with my daughters will look different, but if it is to continue, I must not give up.

So celebrate the everydayness of life. Enjoy every minute. Look for ways to teach your children in the everydayness. As you lay in bed and reflect on your day, you will be happy that you enjoyed the day and took the time to teach your children in the everydayness of life.

The everydayness of my life is beckoning me and I need to go make my daughters a rhubarb pie. It’s one of the things that makes them feel special.

May

2019

One of my Steps in Parenting

Parenting isn’t something we should just wing and hope for the best. Parenting needs to be intentional not just when we feel like it, but many ore times when we don’t. One of the major stepping stones in our parenting journey began once we announced our pregnancy.

God’s Timing

What a great day it was when we finally could announce to the world that we were pregnant. We had waited for longer than I wanted to wait. I still don’t know if I have learned that lesson that God was trying to teach me. I still long for things to happen in my timing rather than trusting in God’s perfect timing. As I write these words, I have had many different thoughts flow through my mind. How many times have I knelt in prayer and asked God about His timing. Many times.

We waited for God’s timing and on the day that God decided the timing was right, we became pregnant. I remember those days as I was so nauseated and felt so miserable, and yet there was so much joy. I think that is the only time in my life that I have been happy to be sick. It was miserable, but I knew it would be worth it in the end.

What am I going to do?

Then we started thinking about being parents. I didn’t know the first thing about being a mom. How was I going to take care of this helpless infant that needed me for every aspect of life? That was a responsibility that was daunting and overwhelming. I didn’t want to mess this precious little one up. I could either mess their life up completely or set them on a trajectory that would help them throughout life.

So I started to read. I had a friend recommend to me a series of books by Gary and Ann Marie Ezzo titled “Preparation for Parenting” Back over 20 years ago, there were cassette tapes that we listened to and a book that we read. Now there are videos to watch along with the book.

A welcome addition

These books helped me to understand the needs of a baby in a way that I had never been taught. One of the biggest premises of this book is that “Children are a welcome addition to our families.” Too often when babies are born, our lives change focus and with good reason. These little ones need us. These little ones are helpless and can do nothing without us. It is with good reason that our lives change and our focus changes. However, too many parents have gone overboard with this and their children become the center of their world and not a welcome addition.

A schedule is a beautiful thing

The second thing this book taught me was that babies do better with a schedule. When we put our babies on a schedule, they learn to sleep through the night faster. Isn’t that what all new moms want and need? More sleep. The schedule is a feed-wake-sleep schedule. It is much easier to plan a day if we know what the schedule for the babies is going to be.

With the help of Gary and Ann Marie Ezzo, I felt much more sure of myself as a mom and felt like maybe I might be able to care for our baby.

I am so thankful for my good friend who introduced me to this material, and I am thankful for Gary and Marie Ezzo and their willingness to put this material together and help so many parents across the country.

They also have a simpler version called “On Becoming Babywise” I highly recommend the audio along with the books, but if time is of the essence this shorter book will also help you understand the principles. With our oldest daughter graduating from college last weekend, I am so thankful for the foundational principles we started with so many years ago.

May

2019

Danielle, A Time to Reflect before College Graduation

Sweet Memories

There is a lot of musing at different times in our lives. I feel like the older I get the more time I spend reflecting and less time I spend planning. That does seem pretty obvious since there is more behind me to muse about than what what there is ahead to plan.

It wasn’t too long ago it seems that I started to teach Danielle how to read. I have always loved reading and knew that books were a good way to not only educate others but a way to stimulate a powerful imagination. Even when they were newborns, I read books to them. I had my favorites to read to them. When they were small we read simple books like Peek-A-Boo, Pat the Bunny, and Ten Little Ladybugs. Then we read Sleeping BeautySleeping Beauty, The Large and Growly Bear, and Nurse Nancy. (I was secretly trying to nudge one of my children into medicine, but that didn’t work.)

Soon we were homeschooling and used things like Five In a Row Vol. I, II , IIIto help guide our book choices. We fell in love with Ping, Lentil, and Madeline. We started playing the shoe throwing game because of A Pair of Red Clogs .

Then we started spending hours after lunch reading our all-time favorite series The Chronicles of Narnia. I would finish a chapter and the girls would beg me, “Mom, just one more chapter.” So we read more. I must admit I had some good voices for all the characters which added to the joy.

We read so many good books and spent so many hours around the kitchen table imagining the world that was written on the page. We would sit on the front porch, and enjoy the sweet smells of summer while being whisked away into another world that in each of our minds was not the same and yet was so real to each of us.

I long for those days and those storybook friends to rejoin our lives. I long for those simple days when we had time to read, “One more chapter.”

And yet as I reminisce about those days and enjoy those sweet memories, I am overjoyed that I had the honor and the privilege to spend all those hours with my children. As the tears flood my eyes as I write these words, I am thankful that I had the privilege to homeschool my children.

Sweet Firsts

We experienced so many firsts together. I enjoyed those sweet days of learning together. Even when there were tears of frustration, there were also shouts of triumph as a difficult concept was understood. There was much laughter over some silly little thing.

When it was time to pick a major, I never thought I could be a teacher. I couldn’t explain anything with the hopes that anyone could understand it. Yet God took that feeling of inadequacy and my joy in learning and allowed me to homeschool our daughters.

Now in just a few short days, our oldest daughter, who I affectionately call my guinea pig, is going to graduate from Cedarville University with a degree in Middle childhood education.

A Monumental Day

What a monumental day for me.

What a monumental day for her.

My daughter, who I homeschooled, is going to graduate from college with an education degree. What an unbelievable and ironic event. The mom who felt inadequate with only a passion for learning and a desire to be faithful is going to watch her sweet little guinea pig get a college degree.

Danielle is doing her student teaching now, and sometimes she calls me and says, “Mom, remember when we… I did that with my students today.” Such a sweet blessing.

The years have gone by so quickly, but I have treasured them all. There are many cherished memories.

Just four years ago, we stood with red eyes, wet cheeks, and some fear as to what lay ahead. Even though Dave and I both graduated from Cedarville and loved it, it was still a new adventure for Danielle and for us. She didn’t have any friends, had to go to class every day, keep track of her own schedule, and wash her laundry and hopefully her sheets.

Had I prepared her for all of this?

There were a lot of phone calls that first semester. Never telling me she was lonely, but I knew she was. It takes time to build a new community. It takes intentionality. It takes hard work and perseverance to begin a new life.

A Day to be Proud of

Danielle, I am so proud of who you have become. I am so proud of your desire to be intentional with people. You can accomplish anything you set your mind to. You have a great work ethic. You are faithful. You have a great sense of humor. Most importantly, you love God and your walk with Him is evident by the fruit in your life.

So on Saturday as you hear your name called…you feel that hard earned diploma in your hand…and you walk across that stage as a college graduate never forget the simple things that made you who you are.

Our morning times learning about the Lord around the kitchen table. The shoe throwing game. The voices from the Land of Narnia. And a family that loves you more than you will ever know.

We are proud of you!

Apr

2019

Be Intentional

Sweet Memories Made

It was a busy week-end with the girls home. We celebrated birthdays, went shopping for birthday presents, went shopping for shoes for Danielle’s wedding, did some work outside in our little old Christmas tree farm, and celebrated Easter. It was a wonderful week-end. The joys of making memories.

When the girls come home, I spend more time in the kitchen getting food ready. I asked them all what their favorite cookies were because I wanted to have each of their favorite kinds ready for them to eat. We went through quite a few cookies over the weekend.

The joy is having them home and the sadness is when they leave again. They will be home for the summer in a few weeks after we attend Danielle and her fiancé’s college graduation. Then will come the wedding. So many emotions.

I realize again and again how important intentionality is. Intentionality takes work and thought and planning. It takes investment on everyone’s part. My girls could have chosen to go somewhere else for Easter, but they chose to come home. I am so thankful for that.

After they leave and the house is empty and I am left with my memories, I am glad I made three different kinds of cookies., spent time in preparing meals for us to eat and enjoy together, and I stayed up and did pedicures with them rather than go to bed.

Intentionality each day

I certainly miss them while they are gone, but the purpose of intentionality is not just with my girls. It is needed with my husband. It is needed with so many others that I come in contact with every day. Intentionality is not just meant for certain individuals. Intentionality is meant for all.

I pray often that the Lord will help me to notice others that are in need. When I do notice those people, I now have more time to stop and help them. Intentionality. Jesus showed us so often how to be intentional.

Jesus was intentional

He stopped and talked to those who needed something. He went out of his way to minister to someone. The woman with the issue of blood touched His garment and stopped to talk with her. The woman at the well was not someone in his culture that he should have talked to, but He did.

Jesus did not just go to the synagogue on Saturday, He lived out His love for His Father and for others every day.

How often do we see our jobs as our places of ministry or do we just see them as jobs? What if we changed our thoughts and became intentional in our jobs with the people we work with? I have been doing this more and more and the rewards are not monetary or accolades from others, but rather a sense of knowing that my efforts are pleasing to my Lord.

The Rewards

Therein, lies the beauty of intentionality. The rewards are not rewards on this earth, but rewards in heaven. As we seek to notice the needs of others, as we seek to comfort those in need, as we seek to bring joy to others through baking their favorite cookie; the rewards are not meant to be something we see. They may be felt in our hearts. They may be seen in the happiness we were able to give to another. However, the best rewards may not ever be seen here on this earth, but they will be seen in eternity.

As we hear from our Savior, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:23).

Be intentional…even when you think no one is noticing.

Apr

2019

Go Ahead and Pull out Those Old Cookbooks

I have a shelf full of cookbooks. I bet you do too. How often do you go to them and look for recipes? I mean I bought them or received them from someone special, so you would think that I would go to them often looking for suggestions of meals to make. Sadly, I do not.

Actually, what I do when I am looking for something to make is go to Pinterest. Isn’t that what we all do these days? Haven’t most of our cookbooks gone out of vogue?

I was spring cleaning my kitchen…I am getting this done very slowly…when I started cleaning my cabinet that holds my cookbooks. I had suggested to my daughters last summer that they should use these cookbooks when it was their turn to cook. When they are home for the summer, I have them take a turn cooking a meal every week. It gives them a chance to practice their cooking skills, and I get a break from cooking. That thought of having them use those cookbooks didn’t go over all that well. They turned to Pinterest, naturally.

I decided as I was cleaning this cabinet, that I would use these cookbooks and make one recipe from one of these books every week. It would add to my collection of favorites and put these books to good use rather than just something I need to clean every year.

We were having company for supper, so I decided to try it out on them. As my first cookbook, I picked one that had been by Grandma’s. I knew there had to be something good in there. My Grandma always got these Taste of Home magazine and then bought the cookbook every year.

I tried a salad, main course, and dessert from the cookbook. The beauty of it all was that I already had many of the ingredients, which is why I chose these particular recipes. I made Sunshine Citrus Salad, Crispy Garlic Chicken, and Apple Puff Pastry.

I told my guests what I was doing, so they knew ahead of time that they were guinea pigs. When I was making the dessert, my husband thought it looked tolerable. (Pictured salad, chicken, dessert)

Once everyone was done tasting my “new” recipes, they all loved them. Best of all, my husband loved the dessert and said it tasted so much better than he anticipated it would.

So my suggestion for you is to try it. Get out those old recipe books and try to make something new for your family. They may enjoy it.

Maybe it is a new skill that you have always wanted to try your hand at – why don’t you try it? It is better to have tried and failed than to have always wondered if you could do it. It is also better to try something new, and realize you don’t like it. You might actually surprise yourself and realize that you can succeed in whatever your new venture is and you may really like it.

Pulling out old recipe books and making a new recipe is an easy thing to try. Sometimes it takes trying and succeeding at smaller little things to build our confidence up for the bigger things we want to try.

What is holding you back? Go ahead. Pull out that cookbook and try a new recipe, you may just enjoy it and be able to add something new into your menagerie of meals you cook for your family.

Something like this may also be a stepping stone for something a little bit bigger and better that you have always wanted to try.

Apr

2019

Memories

Now that the girls are gone more than they are home, memories are made differently. When they were younger, we made memories every day. The memories we made were in the routine, everydayness of life. Since I homeschooled them, we ate breakfast, lunch, and supper together. We went to practice together until they could drive. We did most of life together.

I miss those routine memories. I miss those days of having them around me all the time making noise, singing, talking, arguing, running, or playing the piano.

When they come home now, I still like those routine memoires. I still like when they sit at the kitchen table and work on their school work. I like when they grab the remote and find something to watch. I like when they come into the kitchen and ask, “Mom, what is there to eat?” I like having a full refrigerator, because it means they are home.

I am so happy for them and the stage they are currently in. I wouldn’t want it any other way. Growth is part of the way God made this world. No one likes stagnation. So I appreciate the growth in their lives. It thrills my heart to see them accomplishing their dreams. It thrills my soul to see them navigate through difficult situations. It makes eyes swell with tears when they call to tell me about their day or to ask me what I think. It is an honor to me to know my daughters still value my opinion.

Danielle and Delaney came home for spring break at separate times this year. Memories are made in somewhat the same way as when they were always home. They still need their laundry done. The refrigerator is full of their favorite foods. They sit at the kitchen table and work on school work. But now we also are intentional in making memories together. We went shopping together. We went bowling. We went to the beach at Lake Michigan. We went to dress fittings.

You know the illustration about life being like a jar and we manage our time by the rocks and pebbles we put into that jar. The rocks are the things that must be done. The smaller the rocks equates to something of lesser importance until we get to the sand which fills in the cracks.

Making memories with our families is similar to that jar. Sometimes we make big memories like going on a family vacation. Sometimes we make smaller memories by taking a day trip. Sometimes the special sand memories are eating together at home around the kitchen table and sharing how God is working in our lives.

I miss the days when they were young. I miss the days when they were in high school. I realize as the days go by that the more effort I make into continuing to invest in the lives of my daughters as they continue to grow, the more memories we will make. The more memories we make the more solid our relationship will continue to be.

Relationships take time and effort. They take thoughtfulness. They take kindness. They take inconvenience. They take hugging a little longer. They take noticing what another may need and doing what we can to help meet that need.

No matter the stage, enjoy it! It will only last for a season. Make memories in the little things and endeavor to make memories in bigger ways too. You will be glad you did.

Apr

2019

Millie receives her order from Chewy.com

There is a certain type of food that I have to buy for Future Leader Dog Millie as directed by Leader Dogs. Since it is a brand I cannot buy at my local grocery store, I have to make a special trip to the pet store. The store I need to go to is not always convenient in my errand running. Then, I came across Chewy.com. They deliver the dog food right to my door for the same price I would pay at the pet store. There is also free shipping if I spend over $50. I always buy the dog food we need and a new toy for Millie to play with. Check out Chewy.com and you will love the convenience it adds to your life.

Watch the video and see Millie’s excitment over her new toy.

Apr

2019

Doors

I love doors.

One of my favorite stores to go shopping is Talbots. When the girls were young, they always called it “The Red Doors.” Since the store has red doors at the entry it is easy to see why they called it that. They knew it was one of my favorite stores so they knew when we went in, it was going to take some time to look around. If I found something I liked and wanted to try it on, it would be even longer. They never seemed to mind. Our girls have always been my shopping buddies.

I must admit I love doors. The entryway to someone’s home or place of business always fascinates me. The prettier the door and the surroundings to the entryway make it more appealing to enter. I can’t wait to see what is inside. What adventure might await. What amazing decorating idea might I find once I enter. If it is a cute little boutique, there is always a fascination with what they will have to offer.

I love doors.

Behind every door something awaits.

I look back over my life and feel like there have been different doors. Some of those doors have been open and easy to access while other doors, no matter how hard I tried, would not open.

The first closed door that made a significant impact on my life came the summer I wanted to be a counselor at the camp I had attended as a child. I even worked there in the kitchen for two summers in high school. They knew me, so I was sure that the summer I applied to be a counselor, they would accept me. They did not. I was heartbroken, even crushed. The reason: I wasn’t mature enough. That was a huge blow to my ego. I think I brushed it off and thought they did not know what they were talking about rather than consider why they thought I was immature. As I look back on that time in my life, they were right. I was immature.

Closed doors can be valuable lessons, if we seek to learn the lesson it is meant to teach.

The next closed door that impacted me was when I was ready to get pregnant and God said, “No, the timing is not right.” In God’s timing, we did get pregnant not just once but three times, and now have three beautiful daughters. See the full story regarding this door.

Sometimes, closed doors are meant to teach us patience and faith in God.

The next closed door was when our children were young. I had left my career as a nurse and was a stay- at-home-Mom. Finances were tight and Dave thought it might be best for me to get a part time nursing job. I had a Master’s degree and also had some good experience, but I could not get a job no matter how hard I tried. God did know what was best for me and my family. I am happy this door was closed by God since I did not want to work and knew that somehow, we would make it. Since I did not get a job at that time, I could continue to focus my energy on being a stay-at-home-mom. We also homeschooled our children, so a job would have made that even more challenging. God took care of our financial needs during those years.

Sometimes, closed doors show us that God knows what’s best for us.

The next significant door was an open door. I did get a job doing some home health care as a nurse. The girls were older and more independent. This open door led to another open door at another home care company after we moved across the state.

Open doors lead us to other open doors.

There are more doors in my story. I am sure there are many doors in your story too. There are different lessons we all need to learn. Sometimes the door is stuck, and we must learn persistence. Sometimes, we are trying to open doors in the wrong order. Sometimes, the entryway is pretty and the door opens easily, but we were never meant to enter. It is in these moments we need the counsel of wise people and we need to listen to those wise people.

I wish I would have taken the time to evaluate this closed door and to understand why I lacked maturity. I can see now that I was. Evaluating and taking pause may change the course of our lives. It may save us from future heartache.

Doors. Have you evaluated the doors in your life? Do you ask the Lord which doors to open? Do you ask wise friends what doors to try? Do you see the doors in your pathway as God’s direction in your life?

ddykema5@gmail.com

Words for the Bride and Groom

One Memory at a Time