10 days until the world race is over.
Sitting down writing this Peg (Megan) is sitting across from me asking me to write a blog. So here I am, and the only thing that I can seem to think to write about is memories and moments that have made this all worth it but most of our blogs have been about some of these moments, big things that have had impacts in God’s kingdom. Those things have been amazing and have taught me so much.
Right now, though the things I’m thinking of are the things that impacted me the most and not necessarily the kingdom…
First and foremost is my relationship with Megan, in these 11 months I can only begin to share some of the things we have experienced together. Dreams and future plans could never have prepared us for going around the world together, there were moments when I felt so close to her and God together in a oneness between the three of us that I had never experienced before. There were times when I was not worried about what could happen to me because I was so focused on protecting and keeping Megan safe.
There were even moments when we would sneak away and pretend we were on a vacation, even though it was just a day or even a few hours. Thinking about all that we have seen and done together this year, I am overwhelmed.
Before we launched someone back home compared the Race to a pressure cooker for marriages, at first, I was excited, then a bit nervous, and sometimes in the midst of that reality utterly terrified.
Fortunately, the comparison to being a pressure cooker was accurate, and let me tell you the outcome is a delicious Honey Sesame Chicken (that’s the first recipe to come up when I type in delicious pressure cooker meals).
Megan and I’s marriage has matured and grown so much, yes, our marriage was great before but so was the chicken before we threw it in the pressure cooker, but afterwards its even sweeter, more diverse, and deep.
THIS YEAR WAS NOT PERFECT!!
But to me that was the point, stepping out and experiencing Gods perfect love as imperfect people. We had fights, we nipped at each other, and definitely got annoyed at things that don’t make sense, but the fact is we were forced to work through them faster… not because we wanted to forgive and forget and move on, but because we both realized that we weren’t here for ourselves, we were here for God. Experiencing Gods love together is something that changed our relationship this year. We both not only rely more on God and trust in His plan, but we both encourage each other in new ways to seek after what God wants for us.
I’m telling you, if God calls you or your spouse to do something big for Him DO IT. It doesn’t just impact the kingdom, but if you buy in together it will impact you and your relationship far more that what you expect.
Okay so this blog returned into kind of only being about how my relationship was impacted, but oh well that’s the most important impact.
Thank you all for supporting us this year, you have also played a role in how much our relationship has grown. Knowing that people on the other side of the world care about us, gives us the confidence to go further, try harder, and last through the tough times.
-Ryan
Ps. Don’t mark your calendars for our return in 10 days, we will be doing a bit of traveling before heading back to the states.
