December 2009
SHAHEENUPDATE
This update is for you who, we have found, really care for us. Some of you we may have met once, others, we have known our entire lifetime. We understand that we could just as easily use facebook, twitter, or email to write you individually. However, we want to offer a more personal touch in updating you about how our lives together, by the will of God, are progressing.
A Series of Unfortunate Events The occurrences of this past month have me comparing the past few weeks to the Lemony Snickets movie where everything seems to be going wayward. It all started when Amanda and I were thinking about where I should attend grad school. It seemed as though our days were burdened with this stressful decision, and each day brought a new obstacle. The first occurrence was on the way to work. Amanda was driving to Starbucks when a semi blew past and caused the car to shift into some ice. The car fishtailed and smashed into the guardrail, spun twice and ended up in the ditch. The day after that we noticed a diamond in her wedding band was missing. The day after that our cat began losing strength in its back legs, causing him to fall when walking. The day after that we both worked long hours and barely saw each other. (these are only a few events) However, it all ended with the best type of medicine, family. We drove down to St.Louis where we hung out with old friends, spent quality time with family,
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and attended Harvester Christian Church’s annual Journey to Bethlehem. These experiences had the best of us at first. We felt drained, stressed, confused and misguided. It wasn’t until mid week that I sat down and realized how beautiful these frustrations were. In the midst of the arguments, the calculations, the adaptations and solution seeking I saw how human and how loved we are. Even though all this happened, I was able to experience it with the love of my life. How much worse would we have felt if dealing with these things on our own. How beautiful it was to see that we are living out our vows of perseverance. I promised that I would lead our lives into a life of faith and hope in Christ Jesus. Ever honoring God's guidance by His spirit through the Word, And so throughout life, no matter what may lie ahead of us, I pledged my life as a loving and faithful husband. It was a very humbling moment to realize this. It shut my complaining and opened my understanding. I am still learning to be appreciative of even the worst of times.