2012

It's January 1st, 2012. A quiet Sunday morning since I'm the only one awake. 2011 was a good year. We have a lot to be grateful for. Our children are all healthy and (mostly-except for the daily fights we have to referee) happy and Taylor had a really good year at his dental office. Here's something I've been thinking about. When the Lord answers prayers, the answer isn't always an easier way. I mean, when we pray for guidance and he gives it to us, following the path he gives us doesn't mean our life will be easier. Sometimes it's much harder. You say, of course, I know that. And I think I could've produced the same reasoning a few years ago. But I get it on a new level now. Because I've lived it.

Taylor worked as an associate dentist for a few years after he graduated from dental school. After the first year and a half or so, he felt like that wasn't where he wanted to stay. The money was good and he could've gone on there. But he couldn't see himself working there till he retired. So we (after much thought, analyzing, and prayer) decided to start a dental office from scratch. We prayed about it alot and while we never got a strong or definitive answer, we felt guided in our decision and continued forward with our plans. We bought a building (new and empty), worked with an architect to design the space, built out our dream office, hired staff, advertised our new office in all sorts of ways, and learned the ropes of running a business. And the growth was slow. So slow it was scary at many times. And our overhead was high with a nice building, all new equipment, etc. This marks our fourth year and we can finally feel a sense of relief, that all the hard work is paying off. And though we struggled and it was extremely hard, we've learned invaluable lessons that we couldn't have learned otherwise. When times were hard, I would wonder why the Lord led us down this path. But now it's clearer to me. We had some growth He wanted to give us that couldn't have happened if life was easy. Now instead of coming to my knees pleading with the Lord to help us 'make it' I come to my knees in gratitude that we have. And life is good.