My story looked very expected for awhile, until about year nine in my marriage, with 3 small children at home. My world quite suddenly collapsed in the face of my husband’s infidelity. The pain in the years that followed can’t be described in words; and the havoc it wreaked on our lives and our children threatened to destroy us. But it did not.
I met God in a whole new way. And found him to be more kind and remarkable than I ever imagined.
Even when my husband chose to stay on his path, to divorce me, and to marry her, God did amazing things for me and for my children. There is so much I could say about this season in our lives. But most importantly, He never failed us. He pulled us through every heart-wrenching twist and turn.
One day I was comforting my oldest son (then 6) telling him that, although his father was now moved out forever, we could still have a really good life. He slowly said, ‘Yeah … but not a great life; like if we were a whole family.’ Although I assured him that was not the case, inside it was still all quite terrifying and unknown.
My son has pointed out many, many times since that day all the ways that God is indeed giving us a great life.
One of the most beautiful ways this unfolded was when I married an incredible man on January 1, 2011; and quite suddenly our lives doubled in every way.
Papa and I walked almost identical journeys. Same years of marriage, same number of children, same heartbreak of betrayal. His ex-wife also stayed with her boyfriend, and both of our ex’s have children with their new partners as well. It was amazing to find someone who really understood the first part of our journey, even as we embarked together on an entirely new adventure.
When we married, our family multiplied to include six children, ages 4-10. In the years that followed, we were given the unexpected gift of two more children together, bringing the grand total to 8. All along, we have been attempting to do (large!) blended family well; this life that I could never have imagined. We refuse to submit to statistics, which are terribly depressing. We are both wholeheartedly partnering with the Living One who knows everything, is an amazing creative Problem Solver, and is able to do whatever needs to be done around us and within us to succeed. We have story after story of how He continues to show up and blow away our expectations with goodness.
So I began to curate our unexpected life, for others on their own unexpected path – who need to hear and see all the amazing things God can and will do. He specializes in the unexpected. And He loves to help His kids.
So thank you for joining us on our journey – we hope you will find real life and hope in these pages, and the Giver of those great gifts.