We were at a zoo recently, gazing at a field of hot and seemingly unimpressed leopards. My son got all excited and yelled, “Mom!! Those are the ones from our Bible story!”

I had no idea what he was talking about.

“Which one do you mean, buddy?”

“The ten leopards! With itchy spots! Wonder which one went back and said thank you to Jesus. Bet it was that one. He looks thankful.”

Ah. The ten lepers. What an excellent Bible story, and one I truly relate to these days. I am overjoyed to report that my family has made it through an incredibly trying time that I would equate to leprosy. Ok, maybe I’m being a *bit* overdramatic, but I do believe the phase of life we’ve just wrapped up was pretty painful.

A little background for those who don’t know…my husband has been in the process for a big job that has taken two years, countless nail-biting tests, probing investigations, professional polygraphs, interviews and assessments. Then there were the three months of training that required us to live apart and at times have no contact for weeks. But TODAY, my friends, it’s all over and in one week he will be on the job. With regular hours. I’ll actually see him every day. I feel like I need to pinch myself. See these faces right here? This is true happiness this week (mixed with a bit of exhaustion) on the day it was made official.

I can still remember the moment I heard the news that my husband had made it through the last phase and was nearing the end of the process. I was in an airport bathroom in Wisconsin coming back from a business trip. Seriously. And I will always remember it, because when I got the text, I dropped to my knees in that moment in that dirty little bathroom with toilet paper stuck to one of my heels and thanked God. Out loud. And cried. I didn’t care who heard. When I think of that moment, it still gives me goosebumps.

What was the big deal, you ask? What made the past two years so incredibly trying that I would equate them to leprosy? Simple. The past two years were a seemingly unending season of uncertainty and waiting (two of my least favorite things). We’d go weeks and sometimes months without knowing if the work my husband had done, the test he had taken, the interview he had given, or the phase he had completed was good enough to progress to the next round. We lived with the knowledge that at any given moment, he could be cut from the program and he’d have to abandon a lifelong dream and settle for less. Not to mention, it would mean that he had wasted a lot of time and energy in the process. Needless to say, it was a completely helpless time. A time that affected my husband and I down to our very souls. No matter what we were doing, this job and our future was on our minds, clouding even the happiest moments. It’s a time I pray we never have to go back to.

Now, today, we get to move on. To start a new life. Sure, that new life will be occurring in a completely different area of the country (a small detail we weren’t expecting). But that kind of uncertainty feels a lot more manageable having been through the past two years together.

In the story of the ten lepers in Luke 17, these ten men had been living for years in incredibly trying circumstances as well. They had large, open sores that covered their entire bodies that were painful 100% of the time. Google leprosy, you’ll see what I mean (just make sure you aren’t eating). Not only was it physically painful, but emotionally painful as well. They had to live in exile, totally separate from the rest of the world as this was a super contagious disease. If they were to get close enough to see another human being, they had to yell out “Unclean!” to make sure others knew not to come near. How humiliating and lonely! And the worst part?

There was no cure.

No end in sight. No hope. No chance to get better or to lead a normal life. I’m sure the feeling of despair and desperation were crushing these poor men every single day. I had glimpses of this feeling over the past two years, and I can’t even imagine what it was like for them to live with it all the time.

Then along came Jesus, who healed them in an instant. Amazing in itself, right? When they were all healed, they ran off in different directions. I’m sure some were running to see their families whom they’d been separated from for years. I’m sure others couldn’t wait to return to their normal routines. And I’m sure others just wanted to hug someone. Anyone. I guess it doesn’t really matter why they ran off. What matters is that they all left without saying a word to Jesus. Except for one. Luke 17:15-19 says:

15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” (NIV)

If I’m being honest, I really identify with the nine lepers that ran off without saying thank you. Many of us have been through dark times. Trying times. Hard times. And we pray and we cry and we ask others to pray and we wait and we pray some more. But once God gets us through to the other side, so many times we forget to go back. To thank God for hearing us, seeing us and caring for us and answering our prayers. It seems we begin to forget God and our reliance on Him pretty quickly… until the next trial comes.

Lady friend, I don’t know where you are in your life today. You may be going through a hard time that feels hopeless and never-ending. Or you may be starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, knowing better times are on the way. Or you may be celebrating that you’ve made it through (woot!).

Regardless of where you are, start making plans to be the one who goes back. We thank our friends for watching our kids. We thank loved ones for birthday gifts. We thank a stranger for opening a door for us. WHY wouldn’t we thank the one who brought us through the hardest times in our lives? Who also brought us the best and brightest times in our lives? The good news is, thanking God is pretty easy. Here are three ways to make it a habit:

Keep a prayer journal. Keeping a log of the things you’re talking to God about and tracking how those things are answered over time is an excellent way to keep thankfulness top of mind.

Don’t just share prayer requests. Share answered prayer. Sometimes we’re quick to request prayers at church or with friends. But don’t forget to also share when prayers are answered. It benefits not just you, but those around you who many be struggling in some way, or may be feeling like God isn’t listening.

Give thanks even in the hard times. It may sound crazy, but don’t wait until you’ve made it through to thank God. The hard times refine you. They strengthen you. They teach you. And they prepare you for more. I thank God for the hard times, because I’m pretty sure I grow more from those than from any of the high points in my life. (Though like childbirth, the memory of this trying time is still fresh enough that I don’t exactly wish to go back to it…)

Now, as my family prepares to move into a more consistent and predictable phase of life, my plan is to be the one who goes back. No matter what this next phase brings, I will thank God. I hope you’ll make plans to do the same. Even if it’s in a dirty airport bathroom.

-Lauren