The realizations of a new stay-at-home mom

I never imagined myself being a stay-at-home mom.

 

I've worked since I was 14, starting in my dad's office just a few hours a week. Since then, I've owned two businesses, gone to school for cosmetology and medical transcription, and worked in several other jobs along the way. I like to work and I love new challenges.

 

A few weeks ago, though, I reached the breaking point with my job and Dan and I decided that it was time for me to quit. We crunched the numbers and decided we'd be fine without my salary. We've already made some big financial changes in the past few months, so we felt pretty well prepared to lose my income.


 

Truthfully, the money isn't what makes me nervous. Like I said, I like to work, which in my mind means bringing home a paycheck and it has been difficult to wrap my mind around not making money, but I've felt more and more recently that God has some big plans for me that may not entail making a regular salary. Scary, right?

Since we adopted Max last June, I have felt increasingly called to adoption and orphan ministry, which is really the driving force behind why I started this blog to begin with, but as you probably know if you're a parent too, finding the time can be extraordinarily difficult, and I have felt a bit discouraged.

A few days ago though I felt God speaking to my heart. I have already been blessed with a huge ministry.

You see, I now have the freedom to minister full-time to one precious little person all day, every day. No, it's not the grand plan I had in mind of reaching hundreds or thousands of adoptive families, but I have my own little boy right here in my own home that God has blessed me with. When else are we given such an incredible opportunity to show God's love to someone so many hours of the day?

I've been given a unique opportunity to minister to an amazing little person, to guide him towards Jesus, to share love with him every day. I have been entrusted with an enormous responsibility. No, it's not what the original vision looked like to me, but motherhood is an amazing ministry in and of itself.

I don't know what the future holds for me and what kind of plans God has in mind for me, but the realization that I am already in training for those plans has been a huge encouragement to me.

For now though, I am content where I am, guiding my son to follow God's heart. And that's really what it's all about, right?