I want to give a big ol' PRAISE GOD for the exciting news that I will be able to stay home full-time as a mom starting May 17th! I have loved my job, and I love my co-workers even more, but I am beyond grateful that I will be able to spend more time with this baby. I want to salute all working mothers - you are AMAZING!!! I watch my friends who work and have kids, and they are the most incredible, hard-working people I have ever known. not that I don't think it will be hard work to stay home. I know it will be. I admire you for busting tail at work, busting tail at home, and still carving out time for friendships. I could go on and on about working mothers, but I just want you to know that you are amazing. I am of the opinion that there is not one right answer as to what a mother should do: work or stay home. I think it depends on each individual family, its needs, and what The Lord calls each person to do. I really struggled and wrestled with the decision to stay home. Like I said, I love my job. I feel like I have been given specific gifts to do my job well. I have felt like I've made a difference in the lives of my students and ultimately in the nursing community in our city. However, I have felt and unmistakable call from The Lord to use my gifts at home.
I do have some fears about entering this new season of life. I have never been a good "home-maker". ALL of my past roommates (all 7 of them) can attest to this fact. I hate to clean. I LOATHE laundry. I am not much of a cook...mainly because I don't like to take the time to do it. which is why is cracks me up that so many people copy my recipes... bulk cooking is the only way I can get home-cooked meals on the table. I am not very self-motivated... I tend to need deadlines and guidelines. All of these things really give me some anxiety to stay at home WELL. I don't want to just stay home without purpose. I want to serve my family and be faithful to the call that God has placed on my life. I am a little embarrassed to say that I have googled "staying at home with purpose" so many times, only to come up feeling even more inadequate to do it well. I see blogs by women with customized activity rooms for their children. yeah, right. that's not going to happen. Women who have daily agendas, chore schedules, home-made cleaning products, and organic meals that they make from their weekly trips to farmer's markets. this overwhelms me, scares me, and is unrealistic for me... especially considering all our farmer's market had was tomatoes the last time i went.
I worry that I will fail. I worry that I will waste my time, my husband's time, my child's time. I worry that I will not fulfill the calling God has placed on my because of my own limitations. I tell you these things because I am sure someone else can relate to these things, and because in the midst of my worry, God is already calming my heart and giving me the only answer I need.
He equips you for what He calls you to do.
In the Old Testament, God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. In order to do this, Moses had to stand before the Pharaoh, the leader of Egypt, and ask for the Israelites to be released from captivity. Moses argued with God about this. He had anxiety, fear, worry because he was not a clear speaker. He stuttered. He was not prepared. I bet if Moses had googled "standing up to Pharaoh with a stutter" he would have felt discouraged too. God did not leave Moses there. He equipped him! He gave him the ability to not only stand up to Pharaoh, but to ultimately lead the Israelites into freedom! There is so much encouragement in remembering what God has done for His people all throughout history. If He did it for them, He will surely also do it for us!
Thus commences the shameless pride:
Waving for the first time
This boy LOVES his dogs... And they seem to tolerate him
He is FAST!! He may only crawl using one leg, but that one leg moves like lightening. I turned around for a minute and he was in the other room. It has started.
I read a few articles about "Baby Led Feeding", and it seems to be PERFECT for this little guy! He was starting to fight me every time we tried to feed him purees, so we knew something had to change. He has been feeding himself for over a week now, and he LOVES it!! He eats chicken, steamed veggies, soft fruits, lunch meat, and other things that are easy to gum up. It has been so fun to watch him enjoy food.Yes, he is feeding himself a chicken leg in this picture. hilarious.
This little Superman pulled himself up all by himself yesterday! He proceeded to stand alone, without holding onto anything, for about 5 seconds. SCARY!!!
It was SO hard to leave this little guy to go celebrate my sis-in-law's bachelorette party in Denver last weekend. I am so blessed that I didn't even worry that his dad would do an amazing job alone with him. They had a blast doing boy things, and I got some sweet time with my sister-in-laws.
I love that I have so much fun with my in-law family! These girls are some of my favorite friends, and they are so fun! We can't wait for McKay's wedding in June!
I felt like there were so many milestones this month that I had to share... I hope you are all having a wonderful Monday! Be sure to check out my other post from today to see what has been going on in my world this week/month.
3 comments:
Don't ever feel scared about being at home! If you do, read this blog: http://www.memoriesoncloverlane.com/
I love it because she is realistic. She doesn't do all the fancy stuff, she just tries to keep her house organized and her children on task. Good luck with your new journey and may God continue to bless you!
Lizzie, it has been years since I've really read through someone's blog, or even written my own. But I read this today, and was so encouraged by your words!
Lately I have been thinking a lot about Roman's 8:28, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
Last week the heating coil in my oven broke, and of course we have been to busy to replace it. After a week of eating out, I figured it was high time to start using my crock pot. After a quick trip to pinterest, I landed in your bulk cooking blog post.
And then I read this post. It is pretty amazing that there is a God in heaven who orchestrates encouragement in our lives, even through cold oven coils and crockpots.
For seven years I got to stay home with my 4 little ones. 5 years ago, I went back to work, when my youngest was almost 1. She is 6 now, and daily I feel the weight of trying to do all things well. I enjoy my job, but I miss being home all day; I miss being able to be there for everything they do.
Your post is a priceless piece of encouragement to me today. Oh how I struggle with the guilt of not being there for everything. I would love to be home with them every day, but that is not something that the Lord has orchestrated in my family's life, despite our deepest wishes He would.
Dare I say I'm glad my oven broke? If God can orchestrate being glorified in a broken oven, I am sure He will have no problem orchestrating His glory in your being home with your sweet boy, or my being away from my children more than I would like.
May He bless you and your family as you begin this new journey, and may he grant you eyes to see the joy and value that your presence and love will bring into your son's life, even on the hardest of days.
H
Hopefully you've settled into being a SAHM. I've been both and I can tell you that I've learned to focus more on the children than on the house and cooking. Reading your self description, I can totally relate. Please don't think that any of that pinterest fantasy stuff makes any child more prepared for life. A child watching you figuring out how to face your fears, deal with your weaknesses, and figure out how to design your house to make it work for you is some of the best teaching you can provide. They need to learn how to run a household, so allowing them to eventually help you, watching you and your husband work as a team, and learning how to become independent and self sufficient is the greatest gift you can give them. Not their names stenciled on the wall of a perfectly organized play room.
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