(4 minutes) *Please Share!*
“That is NOT how I planned this to work out!” Have you ever said that? (insert smirk) Who hasn’t, right?!
“God has great plans for you…” That’s all sweet and cute until it’s your plans that don’t pan out how you’d hoped!
I was a mom (which is the hardest job ever, by the way!) a wife and a teacher. Comfortable. Right where I was supposed to be….until I wasn’t.
Long story short, I ended up leaving “THE Best Job at THE Best School in the World” because I just couldn’t do it anymore. My voice was messed up. Did you know that is a thing? Yeah, me neither.
Many doctor visits, silent weeks- you read that right…with daughters (ah!) ages 4 & 8 - that was interesting. I’ll share more about that another time. Probes down my throat (through my nose!) and multiple speech therapy sessions and it just wasn’t good enough to keep doing the job I loved.
If you can’t talk, you can’t teach. I taught Pre-K! We sang everywhere we went and for everything. I read stories and talked constantly. The joy was getting sucked out of me every minute that I was “broken.”
This was not part of the plan! What in the world was I going to do if I wasn’t a teacher? That’s all I’ve ever known. I have a Bachelor’s and a Master’s in Education. Teaching was perfect for my mommy lifestyle!
It sucked. This was a set-back. It certainly did not feel like a set-up. I was broken, lost and sad.
“I know the plans I have for you,” announces the Lord. “I want you to enjoy success. I do not plan to harm you. I will give you hope for the years to come.” Jeremiah 29:11 (NIrV)
Does He? Really? Is this You, God? Why?! Where are You? Have I been wrong my whole life about being a teacher?
Sometimes when one door closes another door opens….
Ugh! I don’t want the door to close! I like this door!
As you get older, you will likely see situations in your life that seemed bad at the time. You look back and see the good that came out of the bad. A lot of times, you are grateful. You grew. It built character or grit.
Garth Brooks even thinks so! He said it in his song “Unanswered Prayers.”
Well, here I am on the other side and I thank God! He was there. I was not alone. He does have good plans for me.
That is the beginning of my self-publishing journey. I had nowhere else to go. I had nothing else I wanted to do. God allowed me to be uncomfortable so that I would move. I would have never pursued anything else professionally if I didn’t have to.
Thank you God for Your order, for Your timing. When the dream first sparked in my adult life and I wrote a love letter to my sweetie baby, -“I’m Your Mommy”- which is now a personalized book and also available on Amazon- it was not the time when I could have moved.
Years and years of life have happened to take me to “such a time as this.” A set-back. It was a set-up. It’s not the first one in my life and surely it won’t be the last. I am grateful. I am better on the other side. It has been an amazing ride!
Friend, if you are in the thick of a sucky situation, you aren’t alone. It may feel like it but God really does have good plans for you! It won’t suck forever. You will see His plans one day. There will be beauty from your ashes. Hold on! You may be in for a pretty awesome ride!
If you have ever dreamed of being a writer and it’s just a pie-in-the-sky dream…it doesn’t have to be! You absolutely can self-publish. You don’t have to be a trained writer or have a literary agent. If it’s a dream of yours, it’s worth looking into. I have learned a TON and it can be done….by anyone…It doesn’t cost a lot of money, but it will cost some time. Man, has it been time well spent for me!
I am so glad that God is in charge of this journey. I loved teaching…and…(not but) I LOVE THIS too!
