It may not be that long in the big scheme of things, but two years feels like a really long time. Two years of hearing Japanese every day. Two years of washing dishes by hand. Two years of not eating at Chipotle or Five Guys. Two years of learning culture and language. Two years of missing friends and family back "home." Two years' worth of holidays and birthdays and anniversaries and celebrations. Two years of making this our home.
Two years is long enough that our toddler doesn't even remember the States, except for what he's seen in pictures and people he's seen on Skype. Two years is long enough to make friends with people whose language I couldn't speak when I came. Two years is long enough to go through seasons of deep sorrow and to live to see the other side. Two years is long enough to experience new depths of God's faithfulness.
And so as we celebrate completing our second year of life here, we look to the God who has sustained us through the ups and downs, the joys and the sorrows. He has not always acted in ways we would have chosen, and he has not always answered our prayers in the way we would have liked. But he has proved himself to be faithful and sovereign again and again. By his grace we see glimpses of his purposes in having us here, and we trust that there is more we cannot see. Happy two years, God.