Samantha Van Ginkle ~ Heart-Warming Story

From: Samantha Van Ginkle

This one feels a little different. 🤍

It’s hard to put into words all of the emotions that come with seeing the Miami Dolphins on the opposite sideline today..

The last time Andrew played a game at Hard Rock Stadium, it ended with an injury. We walked out of that stadium having absolutely no idea it would be his last game there in a Dolphins uniform… Miami was home for five years. It’s where Andrew’s NFL career began, where we built a life, welcomed our first two babies, and met people who became some of our very best friends. Based on some of the discussions throughout the season, we truly thought we would be there forever. And if I’m being completely honest, sometimes that still hurts. It was my “welcome to the NFL” moment.

I’ll never forget the bus ride to Andrew’s first game as a Viking… We had 53 of our family and friends packed onto a bus, and before we got there I made an announcement basically saying, “Guys, remember that this is Andrew’s first game back from injury AND his first game with a new team. It might take him a little while to warm up and find his footing.”

…And then he went out there and absolutely blew it out of the water 😂

I remember leaving that game with this overwhelming feeling of, okay… this new chapter is going to be really, really special. Maybe even our best one yet… And somehow, it has been.

Minnesota has become home. Our family has grown here. Our faith has grown here. Andrew has flourished here. We’ve built friendships we’re incredibly grateful for and have been given opportunities to serve and make an impact in a community that welcomed our family with open arms.. Which makes today feel a little surreal.

Watching Andrew play against the team we once called ours, while having one of my best friends, Hannah Sieler, by my side knowing our husbands are on opposite sidelines now… there are a lot of emotions wrapped up in this one.

But I think one of the greatest things this journey has taught me is that you don’t have to love one chapter any less to be grateful for the next!!

We can miss Miami. We can love the people who made those five years so special. We can be thankful for every opportunity, friendship and memory that came from that chapter — while also recognizing just how beautifully God has written the one that came next.

And now, here we are in another contract year… If you had asked me a few years ago how that uncertainty made me feel, I probably would have said terrified & teared up talking about it. I like knowing what comes next. I like feeling settled. And right now Minnesota feels so much like home that part of me wants to say, we can’t leave here.

But I’ve said that before.

And God has shown us over and over again that His plans are so much greater than the ones we make for ourselves.

There is so much peace in knowing that this time around… Of course I hope Minnesota continues to be home. But instead of looking toward the unknown with dread, I’m genuinely excited to see what God has planned for our family next… wherever that may be!

Because if He could take an ending that hurt so badly and turn it into a chapter this beautiful, I have no reason not to trust Him with the next one.

Today I’m grateful for all of it… Iowa, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Miami, Minnesota, the people who have loved us in allll those places and every person we’ve been blessed to meet along the way!