Leap of Faith

Things have been a changing in Our Wee Family. The last four weeks are a blur of joy, nervousness, some tears and lots of anticipation. Now that we’re finally coming out the other side – and we have Internet service after nearly two weeks between switching providers – I’m starting to process all that’s happened.

See, we took a leap of faith.

Jason settled himself into a new job recently and we decided I should leave my job as an online editor of a college to stay home with my kids.

And I’m loving it.

We talked a lot at my college about vocation – that call to use your God-given talents to do good in the world. To listen to that voice inside of you that tells you what you should be doing with your life. To find your greatest passion and put it to work to serve others.

I helped spread that message to our students – and prospective students – often. And, finally, I started to listen to it myself.

I love writing. I love the Web. I deeply love the college where I worked and built wonderful friendships. I wasn’t a teacher, but I helped recruit students, connecting them to our inspiring faculty. My job pushed me as a writer, challenging me professionally. It introduced me to writing for the Web - something I now love even more than writing for magazines. I’ll always be thankful for my five years there.

But right now, I know the best decision for me is to stay home with my children – and I’m thankful that with Jason’s new job, we can make that decision. These years as toddlers and preschoolers are precious. Gavin and Natalie are young, impressionable, curious, little sponges of learning. They find joy in finger paint, collecting rocks, searching for bugs, running through the sprinkler and curling up on the couch with a good book. They’ve thrived in their amazing daycare center, but now it’s my turn to tend to them each day.

No, it won’t be all sunshine and roses. In less than two weeks we’ve already had more tantrums than I can count. Worried about feeling too isolated, I’ve signed us up for ECFE classes and a MOPS group. I also have a little freelance work on the backburner. I could never give up writing completely.

But any challenges are far outweighed by the positives this change will bring to our family. I’m confident of that.

And forever grateful for the opportunity.