Updates from the Homestead


You have to know when you don’t hear from me in several days it is because my life has been crazy busy… and blogging takes a back seat to living in the moment. And what a week it has been!

The most precious thing that happened this week is that my hubby and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary… Wow.. I think we were both in shock to realize we’d been married 30 years! We spent time reminiscing and reflecting on God’s blessing on our lives. I love this man more today than ever before. He has been an amazing husband. He has held me when I cried, cheered me on when I succeeded in personal goals, we’ve worked together to reach so many goals in our life. We made 8 amazing babies who’ve grown (and are growing) into amazing adults. Our start in life was so rocky.. and I’ve felt like our life was nothing short of an example of God’s grace, love and blessings.

When we met neither of us were Christians. I was 16, living with my mother and step father who were both alcoholics. He had just moved to the West Coast from Chicago with his own issues and problems. He was my next door neighbor. We met, dated, and spent tons of time together. But we had an up and down type of relationship.. like what you’d expect from a 16 and 18 year old… we were just kids.

At 17, one month before my 18th birthday I found out I was pregnant. I was devastated… my step father told me… “I’ve raised my kids and I won’t be raising any more”. Abortion was totally not a choice as far as I was concerned and Tobin said there was no way he was going to let someone unknown raise his child. However he was not ready for marriage. He told me… I’ll take care of you, I’ll take care of our baby.. I’m just not ready to marry. So I moved in with him. I finished high school.. worked a part time job and then had our first born, Richard, that fall.

By the following spring life was not going that great. We argued, fought, and struggled. He was going to school, we were both working as apartment managers, and dealing with being thrown from childhood/teenage life to adult life with real responsibilities. My grandmother was such an incredibly godly woman. Years later she told me, before she died.. she prayed for me every single day… to all you grandmas out there (myself included)… pray every day for your grandchildren! They need prayer warriors in their life! Well as our life was crumbling… I remembered my grandmother and her great faith in God.. and how she was so on fire for HIM… And as I looked at my life.. I had nowhere to go… a step father who would not take me back, a father who could not, and a little baby that needed a mama.. and a daddy… what was I going to do? At what was the bottom for me, I reached out to God.. the one my grandmother taught me about.. and the result.. was nothing short of miraculous… I accepted Jesus into my life, in less than one month, Tobin accepted Jesus into his life, and we were married one month later.

If anyone had looked at our life prior to this they would have said… “where could this possibly go?” Because all the odds were totally against us.. young, stupid, unprepared, struggling with money and life… a recipe for disaster in anyone’s book.. except GODS!! He pulled us both up, gave us hope, gave us love, gave us grace, and gave us a blessed life.

My husband finished school, got a job, we had another baby, and another, and another… ~smile~ We jumped into life with both feet, holding each other’s hand…. And what an amazing journey our life has been.

It still has had its ups and downs, victories, defeats, encouragements, discouragements… but one thing my husband and I have found to always be true no matter what.. GOD… His love, His grace.. His longsuffering, His blessings… Jesus is always the answer …

So on Tuesday… we celebrated 30 years of marriage… 30 years of love… 30 years of hard work.. 30 years of babies, children, young people, adults, grandchildren… 30 years of blessing… Thank you Jesus…




Comments

  1. Congratulations on 30 years of marriage and thank you for sharing your story with us. It's good to know that it's not all plain sailing but with hard work you can get through most things. I am due to get married for the second time in 2016 and looking at you guys 30 years in gives me hope that this time will be the last time. Much Love Claire at frugal living xxx

    ReplyDelete
  2. Happy Anniversary to you guys!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow. So beautiful. Congratulations. And God is amazing. Working when we cant even see it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Happy Anniversary and here's to many more years together! Thanks for sharing your encouraging story!
    Kristina

    ReplyDelete
  5. Bless you, and your marriage. Your great example and story are a true testament to God's unfailing love. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  6. thank you for this post and for showing God's Glory thru it all. Happy Anniversary!

    ReplyDelete
  7. That is amazing......God is so good!!!! Thank you for sharing your story and congratulations on 30 glorious years!!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a wonderful story! Thank you for sharing!

    God Bless!
    Laura

    ReplyDelete
  9. Gives me chills to read such a great story! Without God I could do nothing! Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  10. A very Happy Anniversary from Eastern Canada! May God bless you both with many more years of true love and happiness!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Happy 30th Anniversary! I am so moved by your words. He uses all things for good! What a wonderful testimony!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I am so pleased having read your rocky start that you've just celebrated your 30th Anniversary. Many many congratulations to you both and wishing you the very best for the future.

    ReplyDelete
  13. What a beautiful story of God's love and how He mends our broken lives. Happy 30th anniversary and thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thank you for sharing your story! Happy anniversary!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Crystal, this is just an amazing post. I'm sure others have been blessed by it, because I know I sure have. Thank you so much for sharing this.
    Happy Anniversary! May God bless you all.
    Blessings, Jamie

    ReplyDelete
  16. I LOVED this post, thank you for sharing Crystal, and Happy Anniversary and many many more!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. love this <3 but of course I do
    many blessings to my peeps <3
    love ya :)
    Cath

    ReplyDelete
  18. Your story is so similar to mine! I got pregnant at 15, we were married, and still are today. It will be 30 years this October. Thank the Lord for my Grandma too! Where would I be without her prayers and her modeling of Jesus to me in her life.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

All messages are moderated. After approval your message will be posted. Thank you for your comments!! Crystal :)

Popular posts from this blog

Canning Cabbage

Canning Chicken Noodle-less Soup

Dishwasher Soap Sub