Clarification

I wanted to come back to the topic of my post the other day on being thankful that I stayed home with my children. The main reason I want to revisit it is that I always want this blog to encourage others and I don't want anyone to feel if they made a different choice it was a lesser one. 

I struggled so many times which is why I flip-flopped with going back to work at times. But for our family and our children it turned out being a good choice. When I was working I found that I poured myself into that so much that my family suffered. I do have a tendency to plunge into things so deeply that there is no balance. I have a child on the autism spectrum who needed me. I have another child with generalized anxiety disorder. My third child has life-threatening food allergies that required so much prep work. So for us, it made sense.

I can also tell you that if my husband wasn't a pastor in churches that provided us with either a parsonage or housing allowance, it wouldn't have happened either. If we had to cover all housing expenses than I would have had to make a different choice.

I want to make sure that we don't compare ourselves with another family and say, "Oh, if only I had done that." I can tell you that homeschooling and being a stay-at-home mom is no guarantee that your children will make right choices. There is no guarantee that your marriage will be perfect or any number of other things that we think will happen, "if only..."

I'm in a new season right now and that's another reason I'm working on consecration. My goal right now is to study, study, study and be faithful to the ministry God has called me to for this season. What doors will open because of this I'm not sure, but I am thankful that I heeded the call to focus on my family for the time I did. 

So be encouraged! Even if you work a full-time job, you can find ways to connect with your husband and children. Some of the best, well-adjusted young adults I know come from families where both parents worked outside of the home. So it's all good! Be faithful to what God has called you to do.