Milestones of God’s Faithfulness

Happy Monday to our CFC Family;

Yesterday evening our family came together for a games night to celebrate our daughter Taylor’s 30th birthday. 2025-2026 has been a season of milestones for her, from marrying her high school sweetheart in August to now stepping into a new decade of life.

After the evening wound down and everyone had left, I began shutting down the house and call it a day. The last light I turned off was in the dining room, where just an hour earlier we had been laughing together over a competitive game of Catan. I paused for a moment in the stillness and smiled.

“Man, that was really fun,” I thought to myself.

Reminiscing on the evening, felt a deep sense of appreciation and joy. Another milestone had passed, Taylor’s thirtieth birthday, marking the close of this chapter in her life. And it wasn’t just a milestone for her; just as Taylor had never been thirty before, Lenise and I had never had a thirty-year-old daughter before. It felt right. It felt special. I felt proud of the remarkable woman she has become.

Before the games began, Lenise had prepared a wonderful Chinese meal. As we were sitting around the table enjoying the food, I asked her, “So what were we doing thirty years ago right now?” Without hesitation, as if it had happened yesterday, Lenise began to tell everyone what it was like to hold our first born in the hospital. She spoke of the struggle of delivery, the mixture of exhaustion and overwhelming joy, and the sacred feeling of becoming parents for the first time.

From there, the stories continued with Jordan’s birth and then Aliyah’s, each one bringing their own descriptions of challenges, fears, and victories. Each child entered the world differently. Each milestone shaped us as parents. With every birth we were stretched, refined, and changed.

Milestones face us regularly. Special days and anniversaries come and go, birthdays, weddings, graduations, new jobs, and new seasons. When we are in the midst of them, they can feel overwhelming or even ordinary, but looking back we see how each one builds upon the last.

No milestone stands alone. Each one is connected to the journey before it.

As Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 reminds us, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot.”

Life unfolds in seasons, and each season has its purpose and the Bible shows us this pattern very clearly.

In Genesis 12, God called Abram to leave his homeland and step into the unknown. That first milestone of obedience set the stage for every promise that followed. Years later in Genesis 15, God reaffirmed His covenant. Then in Genesis 21, the long awaited birth of Isaac finally came. Without that initial step of faith, the later fulfillment would never have happened. One milestone built upon another.

In the New Testament we see this progression in the life of Peter. He first left his nets to follow Jesus in Matthew 4:19. He experienced bold faith, but also deep failure when he denied Christ in Luke 22:54-62. Yet that painful milestone led to restoration in John 21:15-17. Eventually Peter stood at Pentecost in Acts 2 and preached with courage and conviction. His strength did not appear overnight. It was built layer upon layer through testing, correction, and grace.

Even Jesus Himself grew step by step. Scripture tells us in Luke 2:52 that He grew in wisdom and stature. His baptism in Matthew 3:16-17 marked the beginning of His public ministry. The wilderness temptation in Matthew 4:1-11 prepared Him for what lay ahead. Each moment led toward the cross and ultimately toward the resurrection. The resurrection was not an isolated victory. It was the culmination of obedience through every preceding milestone.

When I reflect on Taylor turning thirty, I realize this birthday is more than just a number. It too represents a single layer in her many seasons of growth. First steps, first days of school, teenage struggles, graduations, career decisions, marriage and now her thirties. Each season shaped her, and as parents, each milestone shaped us as well.

Life does not unfold in random chapters. God builds patiently and strategically. He uses small beginnings to prepare us for greater responsibilities. He uses challenges to strengthen character. He uses joy to remind us of His goodness. As Philippians 1:6 says, “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.”

Milestones are markers of that ongoing work.

As I stood in the quiet dining room, turning off that final light, I realized something. Milestones are not just about reaching a destination, they are reminders of God’s faithfulness through every stage. Each one prepares us for what is still to come.

Question:

What milestone in your life might God be using right now to prepare you for the next season He is building?

Have a great week and we’ll see you Sunday!

Pastor Dan