my calling

I don't have a career.

And in my (almost) 21 years of marriage, I have never had a career. I've done a few odd jobs ... provided daycare for a few months, cleaned a few houses ... but I've purposely tried to focus on raising a family.

In five years, it'll all be over. My youngest will be all grown and well on his way to becoming independant.

I can't say I've never become distracted from my goal. I've volunteered too much at a few churches. I've spent too much time with friends. I've been selfish with my time. But as a whole, Shaun and I have kept our eye on the goal. The bullseye of us raising our kids, and not the school system or the babysitter.

As the school year starts once again in a few weeks, I've been reminding myself of our goal to stick it out until the end. Homeschooling a teenage boy can be God's #1 tool for sanctifying me. But I've come to realize that it's worth every second. I don't want to raise a kid that blends in well with the crowd. I want to raise a kid that sticks out because of his unusual, but healthy dose of character. A boy whose Christian beliefs have taken root and have changed the way he looks from other kids.

Of course it's not just homeschooling that keeps me home. I know without a doubt that all the laundry, cooking, cleaning, and loving my husband would go out the window if I were to pick up a career and run with it. I'm simply unable to physically keep up with working outside the home. Granted, that may be because of my health issues. But that simply strengthens my resolve to be a keeper of the home. I know my limitations, and I am simply reminding myself of them as I step into another year of homeschooling.

My limitations are something I've learned to embrace, and not fight against. And if that means less money, and thereby windows without frilly curtains, driving a few clunkers, and limiting our eating out ... then so be it.

I know I'm doing the right thing ... my life's calling.

How 'bout you? What is your life calling? Are you sure of it? Do you rest in knowing you are in the right place, doing God's will for your life, even if all the little details aren't what you'd like them to be?