Blankets

As previously mentioned, I spend my days in a corporate setting.  The rest of my hours are spent being a wife to my studly husband and mother to two wonderful pre-schoolers and a brand new baby, all of whom are attached to their blankets when sleeping or in need of comfort.  We even named said blankies according to their color…greenie, bluey and whitey (very original).  Oh the joy these boogers bring to my life.  My husband and I often look at each other at the end of the day and say, “those are great kids.”  My oldest two have bits and pieces of my personality.  For the most part my four year old is pretty easy going like his father.  Nature could be sending rain, hail and tornados and my husband would still notice the microscopic speck of sunlight off in the distance.  Jadon is very much like this although there are times when he can be a little high strung when reality does not match his very distinct vision (especially when tired).  This pretty much sums me up in a nutshell.  My two year old has a feistiness to her that is matched by a very sensitive heart.  She is very bossy and wants things done her way.  She can cry golf ball size tears in less than a second.  She has a very sensitive heart and is offended easily.  It is so fun to watch them grow up and understand their distinct personalities. 

There are so many things that I dream about for my kids.  I pray for them daily and have a great expectancy over their lives.  I often chuckle when people say, “I just want my kids to be happy.”  This is actually the opposite of what I want for my kids.  Happiness is dependent on your circumstances.  If a person is healthy, has money in the bank for food, clothes and material possessions, has wonderful friends, takes care of their appearance, etc. then they are “HAPPY!”  Oh boy, good for you!  NO!  I want my kids to have joy.  True joy rises above circumstances and says that I am going to change the world regardless of what life is dictating I should be feeling or doing.  I am going to have peace, patience, love, joy, self control, etc in spite of the chaos around me.  THAT is what I want for my kids.  Happiness is simply a fleeting feeling.  It comes and goes.  I want my kid’s future to be built on something much more solid than just happiness.  Oh, I just love the little boogers.

Boardrooms

As I mentioned in my first blog post, my days are consumed with corporate board rooms…ok so maybe it’s more me sitting at my desk with a headset on or in some ho hum conference room, but boardroom sounds so much more important.  I work for a large company and lead a team to help drive system automation.  Sound geeky?  It is.  However, I do enjoy it most days.  I like the art of solving problems and seeing something come to life that makes someone else’s job easier and more efficient.  Ok, I’ll stop.  No need to bore my audience so soon in my blogging career. 

Although I do enjoy my job, it is tough being a mother who works outside of the home (let me inform the audience that the real work starts the second I enter my home at night to my adorable little boogers).   I’ve been a working mother for 5 years now.  This is the season that God has me in.  That’s what life is about, different seasons with different journeys that ultimately fulfill His purposes of transforming your life into the image of Christ.  That said, I have struggled with a lot of guilt and condemnation of being a working mother over the past 5 years.  However, as I’ve pressed in and prayed about this, I have finally started to listen to what God has been telling me all along, “I have called you to the work place!  I need to there for my harvest.  Your kids are MINE and not yours.  I have their well being and destiny in control, whether you are with them 24x7 or not.”  Talk about humbling and reassuring.  So now I have the choice, to believe God at His word and take hold of that promise or let the guilt and condemnation continue to dictate my view of myself as a mother.  The voice of guilt and condemnation are NEVER from God.

Please don’t misunderstand my message.  I think mothering is an anointed calling by God, whether you work outside or inside the home.  As mothers, we will answer to the Father one day on how we trained His children.  But some women are called to work full time in the home and some are not.  In this stage of my life, I am called outside of the home away from my children to be with other “children” that our heavenly Father has created.  Through His wisdom and grace, I am becoming ok with this fact and accepting my role in advancing His kingdom.  Seasons come and seasons go and I have accepted this season. 

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. ~ Ephesians 2:10.