You’ve been here, so you know.  But in case some of you are new, let me break it down for you.  This year, to date, has been the hardest yet.  There’s been a lot of fun, excitement, and joy mixed in, sure.  But at the root, at its core, 2015 kicked. our. ass.

In early December, 2014, everything changed.  A life we’d been building, growing, and thriving in was ripped away from us out of the blue.  Something we’d relied so heavily on for years, something we’d found a great bit of comfort in, football, was suddenly out the window, and we were left standing stunned and numb, without a single clue what 2015 would end up looking like for us.

Without anywhere else to turn, I took the reigns and threw everything we had into God.  I tried to find the reasons and the lessons, trusting God an His plan for our lives.  Despite being absolutely terrified, I had an odd sense of peace and confidence that everything would be okay in the end.

This year has looked different in many, many ways.  And to be quite honest, every time we thought we had our footing, the rug would be ripped from underneath us and we’d be left scrambling again.  But if we zoom out and take a look at the big picture, it’s abundantly clear that God had his hands all over this.

There were some great lessons to be learned this year.  Chief among them, never say never.  As I drove out of Charlotte back in March, 2013, I sobbed.  It was like a bad breakup scene.  I loved Charlotte, and I loved the little life we had here.  And we knew, without a doubt, that in our football driven lives, we wouldn’t ever be back.  A hard truth to swallow, but I made my peace and moved forward.  But when 2015 was just barely underway, we made the impossible happen.  Back to Charlotte we went, in kind of a rush no less.

But then the devil got his hands on us.  And I’m here to tell you this, the devil doesn’t look like you’d expect him to.  No.  He’s dressed up like everything you’ve ever wanted, disguised in stability and wealth, then drops you flat on your face.  We escaped narrowly and only by the hands and help of people who love us more than they love themselves.  I don’t know how to describe it necessarily, but there’s an overall stinging feeling throughout your body when you’re in the throws of something you know in your gut isn’t right.  Try to listen to that feeling.  Trust your gut.

The truth is, we don’t regret anything that happened this year despite how hard it all was.  We learned a lot about ourselves, about what we want and what we don’t.  We learned that we actually can make it through anything.  In our vows, we promised for better or worse.  We’ve seen our fair share of both in our short marriage, but 2015 will definitely go down in the record books as one of our hardest years.

We’ve made it onto the other side.  We never let ourselves get too comfortable because one thing we know for sure is anything and everything can change on a dime.  But as this year winds down and wraps up, I have to say I’m proud.  I’m proud of how we survived.  I’m humbled by those who helped us along the way.  And good God almighty, I’m ready for 2016!