2022 was a pretty wild year in the Koepke household. To say that I am glad to see it come to an end is an understatement! We knew from the beginning of 2022 that there would be some big changes for us, and sure enough there was. Starting in January, it became apparent that the time had come for us to pull the trigger on something we had talked about for a couple years; moving from where we had called home for all but 4 months of our 15 years of marriage. That was not an easy decision at all, however, God seems to open doors at the exact moments when we desperately need them.

As this year comes to a close, I have really been thinking a lot about the temporary nature of the seasons of our lives. For example, the free-spirit phase of being married with no kids led into a lockdown phase of life with 3 toddlers all in the span of 4 years. However, that exhausting phase didn’t last forever and we are now in a much easier elementary and upper elementary kid phase. I know that we are counting the minutes though until we have 3 teenagers and eventually an empty nest.

Seasons aren’t meant to last forever. For someone who is change averse, that is a hard pill to swallow. I want the good things to always stay the same. I want friendships to last forever. I want traditions that are automatic. To be honest, I am extremely jealous of people who seem to have that. They have their group of best friends that they have been best friends with since high school. They loved their hometown so much that they stayed forever. They haven’t felt the sting of disappointment of friends dropping them like a bad habit. They still go to grandmas house for Sunday supper and there is never a question of who will watch the kids for a Friday night date night (I hear those still exist).

Unfortunately, that isn’t the life path of everyone. I have learned that the hard way too many times. This is not meant to be a Debbie Downer blog though, rather it is meant to encourage others who may live in my same realm. Those who have moved a long ways from home, who have lost jobs, lost relationships, or felt disappointment for any number of reasons. If you flip through the pages of scripture, there are more of us than we may realize.

We are just days away from a new year. That has me thinking of the people who probably had to deal with the most change of plans of anyone I can think of: Mary and Joseph (See Matthew 1:18-25). Can you imagine the hopes and dreams of this young couple being ripped out from underneath them by an unplanned pregnancy during a time where you could literally be stoned on the public square for such a scandal? That had to be an incredibly hard season of life. However, just like He often does for us, God took a situation that could have been devastating, and turned it around for good. The same thing happened in the stories of Daniel, Joseph, and Esther. All three were ripped from their homes in ways they didn’t want and had absolutely no control over. Despite that, they didn’t let that shake their faith. They took their situation and did what they could to serve God exactly where they were. God blessed each one of them and used them exactly where they were.

As we enter 2023, I want to be like all of those heroes of scripture. I want to be useful no matter where I am or what my life’s circumstances are. I want to be like Paul when he penned the words “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” Philippians 4:12. I want to enter into this new year with that outlook no matter what may come. Lord, help all of us to learn true contentment in any and every circumstance.

Happy New Year!!!