Moving on????

Last fall I had the realization that my child was growing up and moving on. She asks to go to school every day and is a bit disappointed when I remind her she only goes to school 2 days a week. As she moves on, so must I. My life has been focused around the home since her birth but what will my focus be as she moves into her school years? Where will my time be spent?

Well, there was no hesitation in my answer to the last question. My career!!!! I have been chomping at the bit to tackle my own goals. Oh, I'll always put family first but I'm great a multitasking ;)! And as Savannah matures, I have more free time that must be filled. It's not so much a paycheck I am looking forward to as it is the achievement. Call me shallow if you like but it's the truth. I love the idea of succeeding in my desired field and I feel I have waited my turn patiently. For the past several months I have been moving in this direction with all the excitement and anticipation of a second grader awaiting summer's arrival.

With the moving out of the baby and toddler years comes the leaving behind of other things. One such thing is MOPs (mother's of preschoolers, a national organization with a local chapter here in our little town). I have served on steering team with much joy and reward for the past three years. I've met some of my best friends, learned many lessons, and grown as a leader through this organization. But this year I was not feeling God calling me back to serve another year. Moving on and leaving it behind.

I did however decide to attend an area MOPs leadership meeting a couple of weeks ago in hopes of getting more speaking engagements. MOPs has provided me an outlet to speak on non-nutrition related topics (ahhh, so refreshing not to get asked about carbs for once!). I printed up a short bio and list of my most requested topics (even nutrition ones) with the plan of distributing them to other MOPs leaders. Groups are always looking for new speakers and I was happy as a rose in the sunshine to provide my services!

The day of the meeting I was 15 minutes late due to an accident on the highway. Embarrassed that they had already started, I quietly took my spot. I sat my bag down, looked up at the speaker. She spoke one sentence and I knew. I am suppose to be coordinator of MOPs next year. No career, no moving on. God wants me here.

For those of you who don't know about this organization, the position of coordinator is a big job and there have been many years we have had trouble finding someone to fill those shoes. It's a big commitment. But surprisingly there was no sensation of loss over my postponed dreams. Only peace.

I wish God worked like this every time. I didn't pray about this over months wondering which path to chose, He was literally steering me in another direction. And in an instance He let me in on His plan and gave me peace over His decision. If you knew how badly I desire a career you would know the depths of that statement. I have goosebumps right now as I type.

So, because I don't "need" (a.k.a. I don't have 30 diapers to change per day) MOPs anymore it puts me in the perfect position to minister to those who do. But really, let's face it. I would have missed that fellowship. I "need" the organization just as much as the mom with a one, two, and three-year-old, just in a different way.

Now, here we go!