If you have been reading my previous posts, you will know about the events that led to Jeff and me renting an apartment in late July of 2014. You will also know that we intended to keep the apartment to live in it while we were building our saltbox, but God had other plans for us, so we have been moving everything out of the apartment and setting it back up in our current home. I am happy to report that I am completely moved out of the apartment and that it is back in the hands of the landlords who so graciously rented it to us last year.

I cannot tell you how happy I am to be completely moved out of the apartment, not because it was a bad place to live. It was actually quite the contrary. It was a wonderful place to live, and I rented from a very nice couple who even allowed me to change the lights to my primitive lighting so that I would feel more comfortable. It is a happy time because I am closing the chapter on that part of my life. It was a chapter of my life that I never expected to open, but looking back on it now, I see that it was a chapter that I had to open to get to the road that God had planned for my life. It was a chapter filled with many dark days, but it was through those dark days that God led me to the peace that is now making my days so much brighter.

I was talking to my grandma this past weekend, and she was sharing with me some of the struggles that she endured during her life and she said, “You know, as difficult as the valleys of life are, they are the times when we grow the most.” She relayed a story to me about a time that she and my grandpa drove to Colorado. She said that they were traveling through the mountains and she felt that God told her to look to the top of the mountain. When she did, all she saw was snow and rocks. Then she looked down into the valley below the mountain and she said that it was one of the most beautiful sights that she had ever seen. It was full of lush green trees and plants and a flowing river. She then said to me that she felt that God reminded her of how important valleys in life are because that is when we grow with God and within ourselves. She said that she never looked at a difficult time in her life the same way after that.

After I got off the phone with my grandma, I started thinking about what she had said and realized how true her statement was. I have seen the growth that the valley caused in my life, and I have seen how it made me a better person and how it caused me to draw closer to God and the people who are important to me. I think about the Dan that moved into that apartment last year, and thankfully I do not resemble that person anymore. I felt that God told me that He would make me into a new creature while I was occupying the apartment, and I am thankful to say that He kept His promise. So, now I can say without any reservation that I am so thankful for the valley that I went through. I never thought I would reach that point, but here it is almost one year later and I am actually thankful for the terrible trials and difficulties that I had to face last year.

It is like my grandma said when I was talking to her: “I am so thankful for every single part of my journey—the good and the bad.” Those are powerful words and words that I hope to repeat often during my lifetime. If I am ever in the position to write the story of my life, the chapter on my time in this apartment will be a very important chapter and will serve as a catalyst to everything I ever achieve or do in the years ahead.

Actually, a thought just occurred to me. The name of the town that the apartment was in is Energy. I never realized the significance of that until this very second. I received a lot of strength and energy while residing in that apartment, and I know without a shadow of a doubt that God led Jeff to that particular apartment. God knew what I needed, and He supplied the need.

So, today I am sharing the remaining pictures that I have of the apartment. These pictures are of the master bedroom and a few miscellaneous pictures. I hope that you enjoy the pictures, and I hope that you have seen how God’s powerful hand has moved in my life and how He can make a way where there seems to be no way. He can bring all of us peace, even when we feel there is no peace to be had. I feel I should close with one of the very first quotes that God gave to Jeff and me. It is one of my favorites. “Where there is peace, there is God and where there is God, there is peace.” I finally realize after all this time just how much PEACE MATTERS.

~Dan~