Victories and Wounds – 25 Years

Living in a world that is constantly racing towards the next chapter of success, getting the best car and living in bigger houses, we often tend to forget the victories of the yesteryears. In the Bible we see a man named Samuel who was careful to pause, reflect and celebrate what God has done in the past.

1 Samuel 7:12 – Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”

Prior to this incident, Israel went through seasons of happiness and seasons of hopelessness. Seasons that included losing the precious Ark-of-the-covenant to Philistines, times of lost spiritual identity, and years of utter chaos due to their disobedience. However, once they put away their idols and returned back to the Lord, they started enjoying the goodness and love of the Lord.

In 1 Samuel 7, the Israelites witnessed a miraculous victory—God Himself thundered from heaven, throwing the Philistines into chaos and delivering His people. It was clear: the Lord was fighting their battles. So Samuel took a moment to erect a monument. Unlike the monuments of our day that glorify the leaders of wars, this monument was a testimony for others to know about the Lord.

25 Years of Walking with God as a Family
This week, my wife and I celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. This anniversary is one that carries the glow of mountaintop moments and the weight of deep valley experiences.

Looking back, we remember eight long years of crying out to God for a child—years marked by heartbreak, miscarriages, and moments of crushing despair. The silence felt heavy, and the nights were often sleepless. At times, we wondered if God even heard us. But our God is faithful. In 2008, He answered our cries and fulfilled His promise—blessing us with our first child, a testimony to His goodness and perfect timing.

The next four years were filled with joy of raising our baby, while asking the Lord for another miracle that would complete our family. Following years of prayers and petition, the Lord miraculously granted us a set of sweet twins. When the doctors told us another child wasn’t possible, God whispered a different plan—and gave us twins. Two lives. Two signs that He is the God who brings life where there was once only impossibility.

During the birth of our twins, a hospital error nearly cost my wife her life. For 12 terrifying seconds, her heart flatlined. But God stepped in. He breathed life back into her—restoring her to be the incredible mother of our three children. All glory to the One who gives life and holds it in His hands.

In 2013, after 14 years at a top financial firm, I lost my job as the company moved jobs overseas. What followed were six hard years—jobless seasons, short-term work, and financial uncertainty. Yet through every low point, God proved faithful. He became our Provider, and we learned to trust Him like never before.

In March 2015, our daughter Hannah was diagnosed with a condition that severely lowered her blood platelets. It marked the beginning of nine long years of health struggles. Hospitals. Specialists. Sleepless nights. It was the kind of sustained trial that can weigh you down and test the very core of your faith. However, we saw the hand of the Lord through it all. Hannah was able to endure her trials with a grace that only God could give.

Deepest valley of pain
Last year, we had to go through the unthinkable: we said goodbye to our beloved oldest child at just sixteen years old. Nothing prepares a heart for that kind of loss. It has been a season of sorrow, with groaning of our hearts that only God can understand. But we feel the hands of Jesus holding us when we could no longer stand. Even here—especially here— we choose to believe that God is still God. Still good. Still with us.

Life Application
So, this week, we raise our Ebenezer and remember the goodness of the Lord. While it doesn’t portray a perfect, polished story, it shows that the Lord is good in every season of life. From the crucibles of suffering to the crowns of miracles, we’ve experienced the unchanging hands of God. Our marriage has held both miracles and mourning. And through it all, the Lord has helped us.

In the past 25 years, we have loved, had disagreements, wept, laughed, grieved, and persevered. We have learned that God doesn’t always deliver us from the fire—but He never leaves us in it alone. We’ve come to realize that while we all dream of lives as lovely as a bed of roses, it’s easy to forget—roses don’t grow without their thorns. Yet perhaps it’s in those thorns that God weaves His greatest lessons.

So today if you are going through rough waters, stormy seas, and painful seasons that seem unending, choose to trust the Lord that he is sovereign and his ways are always perfect. Even in our days of questioning why, we hold fast to the truth that He is our Ebenezer—our rock of help, now and always.

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