Keep Your Head Up

 

*Before you read this we want to thank everyone who has helped us both financially and otherwise so far.  Words cannot begin to express our gratitude.

     There have been many songs throughout the years that have encouraged people to "Keep your head up." I will admit that the latest song to do this (found here) is a catchy upbeat tune that makes looking up seem really easy.  These songs encourage us to keep moving forward and stay positive regardless of whats going on in our lives.  The more I thought about the concept of keeping your head "up" the more it got me thinking about what exactly we should be looking at.

     Looking up allows us to see what's ahead, but what if we don't like what we see? OR what if we can't see anything at all? Then what? Well, a few years ago I would've suggested that you just tough it out, don't make a big deal about it and maybe do some praying (because that's when we are supposed to pray right?  When things are bad?).  Well I have a different suggestion now.

     As you should know by now Emily and I are trying to start a family which has been the single hardest thing either of us has been through.  I've said this before, but we didn't realize how much pregnancy, babies, and talk of children was all around us until we realized that starting a family wasn't going to be easy for us.  I think people just assume we have kids because of where we are in our lives and seem to throw us right into the middle of conversations that we don't belong in.  I mean, we still go to bed relatively late, sleep in when we can, eat peaceful dinners together and don't have locks on our cabinets/toilets/or anything else that will open. As much as we love the life we have WE ARE READY FOR KIDS!!!

     To most of you, it doesn't seem like we have anything to hang our heads about.  All I can say is when you want something as bad as we want a family of our own, it seems like you can't get away from it.  But, we are able to keep our heads up not because we are promised children but because we both truly understand now that God's plan for our lives is all that matters.  A great biblical analogy is the story of Moses and the bronze serpent (read it here). Basically, the Israelites were in the wilderness speaking against God's plan so He sent poisonous snakes out.  The snakes bit the people, but if the people listened to God's command and looked up at a bronze serpent that Moses placed up on a pole, they wouldn't die. 

     Sounds weird but here's my point: God didn't send the snakes to bite only the people who were defiant.  He sent the snakes and they bit whoever they pleased.  The hope in this story is that if the people looked up they wouldn't die and would be allowed to continue on the journey God had them on.  We may be bitten and we may be bitten alot! If we keep our head's up however, we won't die either! God had given His people a promise and as we know from later readings, He fulfilled His promise.  That should be our encouragement.  This story is an example of how we should act.  If we keep our heads up focused on Him we will get to the place He wants us to be.  Whether or not that is where we want to be or not doesn't matter.  Life is not about us.