Dreams in my Backyard

Throughout my life I have heard many interpretations of what a mom and wife should do and be; there are two that I reflect on often:

1. She should stay at home and keep to herself and make sure her husband and children feel her presence.

2. She should work very hard and try to help her husband provide for the family at all cost, so that the family can have the best “quality” of life.

3. She should use discernment, find balance,  and follow the Lord’s guidance maintaining her biblical role in the home.

I tend to lean towards # 3. I find that after being married for seven years, this frame of mind is what God has called us to in our home. Sometimes #1 and #2 are called for in different life circumstances. However, I do believe that finding balance and maintaining that balance is a sweet blessing. I have hoped that as a wife and mom I can find creative ways to work on my passions, make a little extra cash, and still be who I am meant to be as a mom and wife. It really does take some coordination. I find that as a dancer, ballet instructor, and choreographer I have to take the coordination I work so hard to attain on the dance floor back to my home ha! I can’t just sit and wait for life to become simpler; I must have a vision for my role as a mom and wife. I need a plan with the Lord leading every step. And sometimes that leading causes me to let go of the things that crowd my life, my heart…my family time. Thus, when trying to find balance there is at times a sacrifice…a letting go to make room for joy.

Elisabeth Elliot once wrote, “…God has allowed in the lives of each of us some sort of loss, the withdrawal of some-thing we valued, in order that we may learn to offer ourselves a little more willingly, to allow the touch of death on one more thing we have clutched so tightly, and thus know fullness and freedom and joy that much sooner.”

These words truly convict my heart. At times I struggle with purging some dreams, or knowing which dreams to purge and which dreams to keep. We know when spring comes it may be time to look through our closet and see which items of clothing we can maybe donate or put away to make room for our spring items. In the same way, I need to purge those things that only crowd out new roads God has for me; maybe he is giving me my dreams but they will become reality in new ways. For example, Instead of being a full time dancer Monday- Friday 9-5, the Lord has opened doors to be part of the arts in different projects, which allows me to fulfill other things God has called me to. Instead of being a writer for a major company, God is leading me to write about our family and the life he has given me; my own “work from home” venture.

Today, I danced. It may not have been in a studio this time around; it was in my very own backyard. It’s so sweet to be able to keep some dreams in my backyard and at times see them on the stage. Sometimes that photographer could be my four year old ha!. Finding balance and having a vision with Steve for our family has helped me see God at work in my life. Life can be simple, yet fun, and full of adventure, mystery, and joy. We just have to be available in our hearts, minds, and in our time to see it. Since God called me to motherhood and being a wife to Steve, I know that is my top priority after my relationship with Christ. Everything else becomes the additional blessings God allows us to see on this side of Heaven.

Whatever road you are on, whether you don’t have the balance in your life from an unexpected overcrowded heart and life or you feel you are living the mundane (Sometimes we really can’t control our circumstances), God is up to something; He is working at making you who you are meant to be. Have you surrendered your life to Him?

What has God called you to in your current role as a single person, wife, or mother?

How do you find the balance in these God ordained roles?

 

 

*Book Quote- “Keep a Quiet Heart” by Elisabeth Elliot