New Chapters

As our faith grows, we know that Jesus always has our hand, no matter the season.

This is my first post in a month. July was eventful for me, to say the least. My sister came to visit with her three kids, all under the age of eight. We celebrated the 4th of July. My son went to band camp. We had my daughter’s senior pictures taken. We celebrated her seventeenth birthday and I went back to work full-time.

It’s been a roller coaster ride.

For the past seventeen years, I have been a stay-at-home mother and wife. I have been a substitute teacher for the past eight, but that was a very flexible gig.

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I prayed without ceasing, that God would make a way for me to be at home full-time with her. It was something that I desperately wanted to do, but was impossible on paper.

But, as I would learn personally, “Nothing is impossible with God.”

My hubby was offered a new job that paid better and we took a leap of faith. My sweet mother-in-law dropped by from time-to-time with diapers and meals for our freezer. She continued to do so all the way through my son’s birth too. She never told me when she was coming, but she always came with her arms full and she always took us out to lunch and paid for my kids to ride the merry-go-round.

My mama brought diapers too, and formula, and baby clothes. She often took my little ones for the weekend so my hubby and I could have some alone time.

Things were tight, but life was good. God had indeed, provided.

God began to work on me and my faith. I began to read my Bible regularly. I began to teach a Sunday school class. I began to get involved with and then lead Vacation Bible School. I became involved in my kids’ youth group and eventually went on a mission trip with them and then another.

But, when they both started high school, I began to feel called to do something else. I prayed again without ceasing, about the next step. I applied for many different jobs and got more than a few rejections, but my faith had grown to the point that I knew God would let me know what the next chapter would be.

He did. I learned of a position as a bookkeeper at a local elementary school. I interviewed and was offered the job right away. I started a couple of weeks later.

It would be dishonest to say that it’s been easy beginning my new chapter. It’s been exciting and fun doing something new and I’ve met some fabulous people, who I know will become good friends. But, there have been tears too. It’s been exhausting and when my daughter told me she really missed me being at home, I cried myself to sleep.

A Bible study I have been participating in, (which I’m sure is no coincidence), has focused on Ecclesiastes. “For everything there is a season;…. a time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance.” Ecclesiastes 3:4

But, the study also pointed out that on this side of heaven, the seasons often overlap. We can celebrate a Christmas, but mourn that a loved one is no longer with us. We can be thrilled that a child is starting kindergarten, or high school, or going off to college, or getting married, but be sad that our life with them will never be quite the same. We can take a new job, but desperately miss our friends from the old one.

That’s the tension that we live with here on earth. My tender heart is learning to embrace both the laughter and the tears in this season. I can be thankful and sad at the same time. I can be happy and mourn. One is not exclusive of the other and Jesus has my hand, all the way through.

A dear friend asked me if I would continue to write here on Gracefulgaines. My answer was yes. I’m still seeking God in the world around me even though my world is changing, because God never changes.

I’m still hoping to be a reflection of Him here in this space and provide a ray of light to someone who may need it. As long as I’m breathing, God is still at work in me. He is in you too, no matter where you are in your story. Perhaps you needed reminding today.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂