Five Year Chunks
Josh and I have been married 20 years now and while we, like many at the end of a year, reflect on the past year and make goals for the new year, we’ve also always viewed and talked about life in 5 year chunks. I was journaling recently and did a rough timeline of all of our 5 year chunks. In a nutshell:
2005-2009 “The Early Years”
~ Young goofy broke kids start having kids
2010-2014 “The Blurry Years” aka “The Survival Years”
~ Three littles, Josh working like crazy to grow a business, I quit my job and start working for the business from home
2015-2019 “The Prime Years”
~ So many memories (we were super intentional on this!); started homeschooling, lots of family projects and playing in a home we loved, did a lot of traveling as a family (for the first time!)
{Lots of our travel experiences are chronicled here}
2020-2024 “The Crazy Years”
~ Teenagers and the biggest life changes!
This last five year chunk has been a doozy! From the worldwide pandemic, to selling a business, to moving across the country {that story here}, to wondering if we should have sold the business, to wondering if we should have moved across the country, to learning how to manage a ranch and all that goes along with that lifestyle change, to starting two more businesses, to having three teenagers at home plus one who thinks he’s already a teenager … It has been a crazy stretch of time!
The cool thing about reflecting on specific chunks of time like this is really seeing God’s hand in every detail and being reminded that He holds every bit of it. At the beginning of 2020 we had no idea we’d be able to sell the business. Wyoming, or even moving at all, wasn’t even a thought in our minds. Along the way, things were so unclear and there were tough decisions to make, but looking back I can see Him guiding us. I can read back through prayer journals and hear the anxiety in myself but the prayers almost always end with, but Your Will be done, Lord ~ just keep guiding us. And He did. And He does.
This past year for my daily Bible time I’ve stayed mostly in the Gospels, and over and over I noticed the word, “Behold.” Jesus used it a lot, and those writing the Gospels used it a lot. In Greek - “eido” which means, “be sure to see.” As in - don’t miss this! Open your eyes ~ be sure to see.
As I reflect on our five year chunks I can see … I see clearly now God’s goodness and kindness and His hand in every detail, even if I couldn’t see that when I was in it. Within everyone’s timeline are stretches that are dark or rocky or maybe feel like a rollercoaster that won’t stop. There have certainly been those in each of our five year chunks. As I look to the next five, I want to Behold. I don’t want to miss Him … I want to hear when He says, “Emily, be sure to see …” whether we’re in a dark valley or on a shiny mountain.
It makes me think of the passage in Luke 24 after the crucifixion, a couple of the disciples were walking on the road to Emmaus, grieved about Jesus dying. Then the resurrected Jesus actually shows up and starts walking with them. They walk and talk a long way, and Jesus tells them all kinds of things, but they don’t realize it’s Him. Finally, when they sit down to eat together, and Jesus breaks the bread, “their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.”
Eyes open to the truth … to see what really matters. That’s what I want. Another great part about reflecting on time in chunks is that the things that really matter come to the surface, and the things that don’t fade away. Like the hymn: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”
At the end of the next five, I wonder where we’ll be. Our oldest son will be 22, the same age we were when we got married, our girls will be 20 and 18, both graduated from high school, and our youngest son will be 14. It seems that each five year chunk goes faster than the last. We’ll dream, set goals, and make plans. And that’s good. But ultimately, I have no idea what’s in store. And that’s good too! Because I trust the One who is leading us each step of the way.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6
Trusting has not always come easy over the years. I’m the type of person to want to know everything, to have it all figured out. Once several years back, Josh and I were leading worship at our church and I had this desire to hear something from the Lord. I felt a little lost or stuck, like I needed direction. I wanted a clear - “Emily, this is what I want you to do, and here is exactly how to do it” from God. I was praying about this and after the service a man, an elder of our church who I greatly respect, comes up and asks if he can pray for me. I had seen him pray over people and have a word from the Lord for them. So I’m thinking, Yes! God is going to tell me something big here!
After he prays, he looks at me and says, “You’re wanting an answer.”
“Yes.”
“Keep walking with Him. Keep seeking Him. That’s what God wants to tell you.”
I didn’t say this out loud, but I was thinking, That’s it!? I wanted specifics! But God’s answer to my “That’s it?” was “That’s everything.”
I don’t know where the path is going. I just need to keep walking with Him, keep seeking Him every day, and He will direct my paths. And what is crazy cool is that even though our five year chunks never look the way we imagined they would, when we keep walking with Him and seeking Him, God does abundantly and exceedingly more than we could ever ask or imagine.
So … Here's to the next five … I don’t know where we’ll end up or how we’ll get there, but Lord, I trust You. Walk with me every day as I seek You every day. Help me to Behold … to be sure to see You. I don’t want to miss a thing.
“Behold {Don't miss this ~ Be sure to see}, I am with you always.” - Matthew 28:20
And to my love and best friend of 20 years … Your hand holding mine, ‘til I ride my last ride. ❤️
