an anniversary of sorts...

i think that there are seasons in your life...defining moments...that have such a distinct impact that they are etched forever in your mind & soul.

one of those moments for us was the arrival (and departure) of hurricane ike. without going on and on about how much it impacted our life, i will just say that it has forever changed us. just hearing the name IKE brings the range of emotions back in a split second.

so it was interesting that on the eve of the anniversary of ike's arrival, we had a local realtor come to our house to photograph our 'after' shots. they are working on a revitalization project for our neighborhood and want to cast the vision for the potential of the homes in our community.

they just sent over the photographs tonight and i just sit here in awe. which seems silly considering that this is my view every single day. but i still have this overwhelming 'pinch me, i can't believe that i live here' feeling whenever i see it in photos.

and in case you don't remember what it looked like BEFORE, here's a quick glimpse:

as i look at the before & after photos i am reminded that while things sometimes seem overwhelming in the midst of the storm, often times...after the storm has past...you can look back and see that GOOD has come out of it...things that you couldn't possibly have imagined.

and so, tonight as we face our newest storm, i shall try to remember that "all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose."

this kitchen will serve as my visible reminder that sometimes you just CAN'T see ahead...but that the plans HE has for us are far better than what we can imagine for ourselves. even if the process is painful.