The Lord's Plan For A Stay At Home Mom

This week I was hit with jealousy. The kind of jealousy that causes a domino effect in your thoughts and how you act. I was jealous because I saw someone else experiencing great success in their career.  I'm usually not the jealous type but the Lord is using this situation to fully show His path for me is perfect. You see, the person I was struggling in jealousy over was my husband.  Can you believe that? Don't get me wrong, I'm also very proud of what he has accomplished and how hard he works for our family. That's why I was shocked and confused when these emotions started servicing. So, I began to reflect on this source of jealousy and ultimately my choice to be discontent. As I reflect on where the Lord currently has me; it causes me to think about where I have been. So take a little journey with me...

Many, many years ago I started my college career as a Psychology major. I liked the idea of helping others and counseling those in need. Well, after 1 year I discovered this psych stuff really wasn’t my passion. So, I changed my major to Kinesiology with the hopes of going for an MA in Physical Therapy. However, those chemistry and physics classes were way above my brain capacity! Here I was changing my major for the third time but I had no idea what degree to choose! It wasn’t until after great prayer that I felt the Lord leading me into a degree related to children. So, away I went with a degree in Early Childhood Education (ECE)!

Prior to jumping into ECE the only experience I had was babysitting. My first experience in the early childhood field was during my lab work as an undergrad student. From then I gained experience as a fulltime infant and toddler teacher, provided support to ECE programs through our local Resource and Referral Network and became an instructor for a state wide Infant and Toddler Training Program. During my career I also started pursuing my Masters degree. 2 kids and 4 years later, I graduated with my Masters in Education with an emphasis in Early Childhood. For over 11 years, I had rich opportunities in this rewarding career. However, in 2014, the Lord had a new opportunity for us through fostering and adoption. This opportunity pulled me completely into the lives of my children as I remained solely at home with them. I'm proud to be a professional mom to four beautiful children. As I reflect back on all the years of schooling and experience, I can see the Lord was simply sending me on a path towards home.

A path at home where I have the opportunity to cultivate the young hearts and minds in our family. For the most part, I enjoy implementing the skills, tools and experiences that I’ve learned along the way with my own children. Then there are days when the screaming doesn't stop, the demands are constant and the appreciation is lacking. There are no promotions, pay raises or encouraging emails from a supervisor as a stay at home mom. However, If this is where I focus, I am leaning into the worlds standards and not the Lord's.

This week I was reading the book You Are Mine by Max Lucado to my oldest daughter. Here is a summary. "Boxes and balls. They are the latest thing! Fancy balls. Colorful boxes. All the Wemmicks had them. All, that is, except Punchinello. Not wanting to be left out, he resolved to fit in. He would do what ever it took to have what others had. He never imagined it would cost him so much. Eli, his maker, used the moment to remind Punchinello of this truth: You are special, not because of what you have, but because you are mine." What a great reminder I received in this wonderful story book. This jealousy I was choosing to sit in was drawn out because I wasn't choosing to sit in the approving arms of the Lord's. Instead I was looking at the approval of the outside world.

So, I need to continually surrender my moments of discontentment and rest in his plan for me as a stay at home mom. I can use these moments of weakness to tumble into the Lord's arms and trust fully in Him. May you also know that the Lord has a perfect plan for you, that your identity can be found in Him and you can be His whether you work in or outside of the home. And remember, there is usually a Wonder Woman standing next to every successful man.

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