On turning a quarter of a century old (A Decade in Review)

25 is a milestone, though I suppose it's still too early for me to be overly nostalgic or begin thinking the best years of my life are already behind me.  Just for fun, I tried to recall some of the more significant details of my past decade of living, and found -- unsurprisingly -- that it gets harder and harder to keep them all straight the further back I go.

Last year, when I turned 24, Tara and I got our first puppy together, and it was this past February that we bought our first house.  We've been living happily ever since in quiet Woodstown, New Jersey, and are approaching our third anniversary in February of 2015.

Two years ago, when I was 23, I first got on a plane and first set foot outside the country on my first short-term missions trip to Roatán, Honduras.  That was also the year that The Twenty Committee released our debut album, A Lifeblood Psalm, to scores of positive reviews.

On Christmas Eve, 2011 -- not long after I turned 22 -- I asked Tara to marry me, and our wedding took place two months later on February 25th, 2012.  I finished my BA in English that same year, graduated Rowan, and began working in youth ministry as well, the joy-filled career in which I currently find myself and trust the Lord to protect in the years to come.  2012 was also the year XXCMTE was officially formed (building on the skeleton of Synaesthesia), and the year we road-tripped to Nashville to record the album at Radiant Studios.  I also started Häxprocess that April, and am looking forward to a fourth year writing this blog.

One of two performances as Revere, the first
incarnation of XXCMTE: equal parts jam, prog,
comedy, and prophetic readings from Isaiah.

When I was 21, Tara and I (impossibly) started dating again.  Steve also built me a Telecaster for my birthday, and Synaesthesia traveled 1300 miles in under 72 hours to Wilmore, Kentucky and back to perform at a Christian music festival.  Tara and I began our season of serving at Mercy Hill Church that year as well, building relationships with a neighboring church body that still continue to bless us today.

Years 19 and 20 together were a dark point for me -- certainly the darkest point of my life to date.  Though I finished my Associates' Degree at GCCC, transferred to Rowan to study English, and began working at JMT as a custodian all during that time, those were also the years that I found myself on a self-destructive track of emotional neediness, pursuing sour, sinful relationships instead of the only One that truly mattered.  And yet my compassionate Father ultimately drew me back into His loving arms, despite the choices I'd made.  Though the memories are painful and certainly nothing I would desire to repeat, God ultimately used even my period of rebellion to grow me into a stronger follower of Him, with a deeper appreciation for the limitless nature of His grace.

To the end, He is faithful -- even when we are so undeserving.

My 18th was the year Tara and I first dated, even after Geoff and I fooled her into thinking the ice maker at the Grubers' house was hooked up to The Clapper.  No, seriously -- we did.  She tucked her glass under her arm and everything.  Come to think about it, maybe that's why our first attempt at a relationship ended so quickly...  A fateful family vacation in Myrtle Beach also occurred during the summer of that year, and Synaesthesia -- my second band with Richmond, Steve, Dana, and Joe -- officially formed in July of 2009.  Overall, we had a longer, more polished run as Synaesthesia than we did as Seraphim, ultimately putting out a 6-song EP and building a sturdy reputation before the band lapsed into permanent hiatus.

My 17th year was the point at which I was finally capable of driving myself back and forth across southern New Jersey.  It was also the beginning of my final 9 months of high school.  I began my first job as a custodian at Pitman Methodist Church, a position that ultimately lasted three years and got me through my first degree without any debt on my shoulders.

16 was the year I got my first car and started my first band, together with my brother Richmond and best friend Jeff Van Valkenburg.  Seraphim was a typical garage band with big hopes and dreams, and was my first venue for writing music.  Altogether, we finished eight songs -- nearly all inspired by U2 and Springsteen -- and played our mostly original catalogue to receptive friends, family, and fans during our two-year run.

I did a lot more yelling than singing in those days.

I'm fairly confident I can't remember much in any chronological order beyond 15 -- not without consulting one of my mom's meticulously documented photo albums.  My 15th was the year of Katrina and the devastating 6-10 Eagles' season (following on the heels of the previous season's spectacular 13-3 record and Superbowl appearance), and was also the year we threw a surprise birthday party at the Winters' house for my dad, not to mention the beginning of my time at Gloucester County College (homeschoolers might be subject to a lot of teasing, but they do have the luxury to start accumulating credits early).

Ten years is a long time to sum up in so few words, but that's my past decade in a nutshell.  I'm not old -- not even close yet.  For that matter, the years are sweet now and promise only to sweeten further.  Even in these times of plenty, however, I'm encouraged by the promise God made to His children in Isaiah 46:

"Even to your old age I AM He, and to gray hairs I will carry you.  I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save."

Though we may grow older and weaker each year, God does not change.  His promises do not fail, and His faithfulness endures throughout all the generations of man.