The ladies in my life. They are fabulous. Lovely. God-fearing. Supportive. Encouraging. And yet each of them has something I want. One goes on lots of vacations.~ Another has kids in public school and she has free time to get her nails done and have coffee with friends.~ Yet another has a house that is not only immaculate but she also has a house keeper. ~ And let's not forget the one who has a nice career and a get away with her husband each year. None of these things are wrong. But what is wrong is this....Part of me wants to be part of each of them.
I am a stay home mom. I homeschool my kids. I rarely get my nails done. My house is rarely immaculate and vacations, although we take them, are done on a dime. At times I escape my reality and mentally enter my friends realities. I go on a trip down "Wishful Thinking". I dream of that vacation alone with my husband, getting my nails done while my kids are at school, laughing over coffee with a friend and then going home to a quiet house that is immaculate because kids aren't there all day to mess it up. And when I do this, I miss the point of my life. I miss who I am. I miss who I was created to be. I miss the blessing.
One day, I had the chance to have coffee with a friend. It was the middle of the day. Her kids were in school. My kids were at home with my servant-leader-husband. This friend talked about her days. I dreamed of what it would be like in her shoes. I left the coffee time knowing my heart was in the wrong place. I sat quietly in my car, head down, asking the Lord to reveal to me what was missing in my heart at that moment. Something, something didn't feel right. Only He could point out what it was.
Then it happened. I saw a miniature movie flash before me. A movie of a ladies life. She was devoted to her Savior. She had been called and set aside by the Creator of the Universe for a special work. He had entrusted her with much. He never gave her the desire to carry a child but had given her the desire to love the orphan. As a matter of fact, he had brought to her life 4 orphans that were now her children and another was on the way. He gave her The Fatherless. He gave her his own. She worked tirelessly at this calling. Teaching them. Raising them. Rearing them in academics and to honor the Lord their God. Her life would be fully devoted to this calling. She would be the mother of many. She would stand out among the crowds. Some would snicker at her. Some would praise her unjustifiably. Some would recognize the calling. She was set apart. She was the Lord's hands and feet. She was, well, she was....me.
I didn't need to be them. I needed to be....me. I fell in love that day with the life the Lord flashed before me. I fell in love that day with my calling.
Don't get me wrong. I have always loved my calling. But I have led a double-life. Loving what I have. Wishing for more.
Let us not wish for more than the Lord's call upon our life. Let us not grow weary in the work of our hands. Let us honor the Lord our God with all our *hearts*, *minds* and *souls*. Let us love what the Lord is doing in our life. What has he put in front of you? Whatever it is, it's from Him. It's His calling in your life. Grab it with both hands and love it more than a fudge-covered-chocolate-brownie. Love it more than you love your neighbors life. Love your calling because it's the gift of your life the Lord has given you. Don't be afraid to blend in if that's what God has called. Don't be afraid to stand out like a freak-show if that is what God has called. Don't be afraid. Let go. Let God. And while we are at it, let's encourage one another to be different from each other. Let's encourage each other in our uniqueness and let's see how far from the Stepford Wives we can possibly get.
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” - Luke 10:27
"A capable, intelligent and virtuous woman, who is he who can find her? She is far more precious than jewels and her value is far ABOVE RUBIES or pearls." ~Proverbs 31:10
