SAHM- 1 Year Later

It’s been a little over a year since I packed up my classroom and said goodbye to teaching.

So, I’ve officially been a stay at home mom for one year (you can read more about my journey to this point here).  I look back on this year, and all I can really say is that God is good and that He is faithful.  Has it been easy or perfect?  No.  My house has been more messy more days than it’s been clean, and I never thought that I would consider a trip to Wal-Mart alone as fun.  But there have been countless times where I knew that I was doing exactly what the Lord wanted me to be doing.

The Lord has used this year to teach me so much about Himself.  He has shown us that He is provider.  He’s taught me that I can do nothing in my own strength, but only in His.  He’s extended His grace to me on my rough days, and has reminded me that there’s no condemnation for those who are in Him.  He has given me His joy, even in the middle of diaper changes and spit up.  He has answered prayers, and has taught me so much about praying.  I’m learning that whether Jesus answers prayers the way I want, or a completely different way, all of His answers are good.  All in all, Jesus has shown Himself good and faithful, like He always does.

The Lord has also used this year to prune me.  In John 15:2, Jesus talks about how the Father prunes the branches that bear fruit, so that they can bear more fruit.  The Father has really been working on me this year.  The Lord has shown me that I really need to work on gentleness, especially when dealing with my kids.  He’s convicted me of my need to people please and is working on getting me to focus on only being concerned with pleasing Him.  He’s used that same passage in John 15 to show me that walking with Jesus is all about abiding, day by day.  He’s teaching me to serve.  He’s teaching me to love His discipline and to be thankful for it, because The Father only disciplines those He loves.  I am still SUCH a work in progress, but Jesus has really used this year to work on me.  Sanctification is a beautiful and lifelong journey.

So, why do I tell you all of this?  Am I telling you that you need to quit your job tomorrow? Definitely not!! Please hear my heart here. The Lord called me to stay at home. That does not mean that I believe that I’m a better mom (I’m definitely not!), or all moms should do this, etc. Each of us has a different calling from the Lord, and we must each just simply follow what He has for us. Really, I just wanted to take a second to brag on Jesus and reflect on His faithfulness this year.  We felt strongly that He was calling me to stay at home, even though some things about that just didn’t make sense.  And even though it didn’t make full sense to us, one year later, I can tell you that obeying Jesus is worth it.  He equips and provides.  He’s just so good!

My other purpose behind this is to hopefully provide some encouragement to you.  No matter what season of life you’re in, following Jesus requires obedience.  It requires taking a leap of faith when He calls you.  I want to encourage you that when Jesus calls you to do something, obey.  As followers of Christ, we are called to simply trust and obey.

I recently read the story of Noah. God called Noah to do something crazy. Building a massive boat because a flood was coming to destroy the earth??? I’m sure this calling didn’t make much sense to Noah or his family, much less to the outside world. But if you check out Genesis 6:9-7:24 you’ll see several verses where the Lord gives Noah a command, and Noah obeys. So much was done for the Kingdom because Noah obeyed.  Noah’s obedience and faith in the Lord led to us learning about how God keeps His promises.  Ultimately, Noah’s obedience points to how Jesus is our deliverer from God’s wrath against sin, and just how Noah and his family trusted God in entering the boat for salvation from the flood, we must trust Jesus for salvation from God’s wrath.  God used Noah’s step of faith in great ways for His glory and for Noah’s good.  Noah couldn’t see the big picture when God commanded him to build the ark, but He trusted that God knew the big picture, so Noah obeyed.  Aren’t you thankful that Noah stepped out in obedience and did as God commanded?

So, when the Lord gives us a command, we must obey.  It might seem crazy, or scary at the time, or others might question our decision, but we must trust that God knows the big picture.  We must trust that when we step out in faith, He will always prove Himself faithful.  He will equip us for what He has called us to.  He will use that time to teach us more about Him and to sanctify us for His glory and our good.  He will use our obedience to make an impact on others for the Kingdom.  Following Jesus is never boring!  May we make it our prayer that it would be said of us that we did as God commanded, just like Noah did.  Speaking from experience, even in the midst of a toddler fighting nap time and a baby trying to eat every piece of dirt on my floor, it is an absolutely wonderful thing to know that you’re doing what the Lord has called you to do.  Friends, I encourage you to do the same.  Seek Jesus, and when He calls, obey.  No matter how big or small a command from the Lord may seem, just trust Him and obey Him.  He deserves our obedience, and obeying Him is so worth it!