stage of life stuff

I feel like my mind is constantly absorbed with thoughts about kids lately--not in the "baby fever" way but more in the pondering of why I don't feel that need/desire and all the complications that come with it.  This has honestly been a hard season of life for me.  On one hand, the Lord has provided me with the amazing opportunity to devote my life to vocational ministry which I absolutely adore with every ounce of my being.  Then on the other, I feel this tremendous pressure to move on to the "next stage" and start a family.  But that is all that it is--social pressure.  Not even comments directed at me, yet for some reason I am taking all things related to children very personally. 

I have wondered if that is a type of conviction from the Lord that we need to step out in faith in this way, but at the same time I've been praying for His direction and know that I am being called to at least one more year of college ministry.  I guess for some reason I just feel the need to defend my calling because it is different right now.  I feel like the motherhood role is so highly revered and aspired to by Christian women--and it is honestly all that it was all I ever wanted growing up--so even though the Lord has been telling me to serve Him in this ministry role I feel like it doesn't count.  I know that He has guarded my heart from the "baby fever" up through this point due to my health issues and now due to my call to serve Him by ministering to college students.  I am praying and trusting that when it is time, He will fully give me that desire, and not just for a few days but a consistent deep longing in my heart to have a child.  I just feel like there is something wrong with me for not having that!

It is especially hard right now with the adoption push that I am seeing in the people around me.  And please don't misunderstand my heart--adoption is an amazing and biblical process that I have always loved.  But I feel like there is pressure right now.  Like believers are being told that if they don't pursue adoption then they aren't fully understanding or partaking in the gospel.  So even though no one has said anything to me I feel like I'm being judged as selfish for being married for 5 years but not starting a family.  And it drives me crazy that I am letting these imagined judgements distract me from the fact that I am serving the Lord in ministry exactly where He called me!  (Again, a lot of my friends are pursuing adoption or have been blessed through it--I am not questioning anyone's heart or saying you were pressured, that is just something that I feel and I have had other friends express the same feeling)

Last year when I was pondering on these issues, I was in a place of fear.  While I still have what I think is a healthy fear of the reality of starting a family, at this point in time I feel that if we were to get pregnant we would be more excited than scared, but we just feel the calling to continue serving where we are.  I guess this is just a part of the spiritual warfare that comes from serving the Lord.  As believers who are seeking to walk according to the Lord's will it would be foolish to think that Satan would not try to distract us by causing us to second-guess where the Lord has us. 

Another big issue I'm struggling with in relation to all of this is the lack of friends in my stage of life.  The reality is that relationships change when kids enter the picture.  Not necessarily always in a bad way, but it is undeniably different.  I think that is part of why I enjoy the college students so much--we can relate deeply on many of the same levels.  This is another stupid insecurity, but when relating to women with children I just feel like whatever I'm dealing with is inconsequential.  That since I don't understand what it is to be responsible for another life, my problems don't count.  (To clarify, this change hasn't negatively affected my closest relationships, but  it does change many of them).  The Lord has been revealing a prideful problem in my heart when it comes to this issue, and showing me that I need to open my heart to people in different life stages--not just those who "understand," but it's still hard.  Ironically, since my post last July almost all of the commenters have either had babies or are currently pregnant.  I very selfishly feel that my friends are getting snatched away from me, one-by-one.  I know that is a stupid way to think.  Friendships don't end just because life changes or they aren't true friendships in the first place!  But the Lord is also teaching me about my need to depend more deeply on Him rather than people.  He is the only constant!

I don't really know the purpose of this post...this is just what has been on my heart lately.  Please pray that the Lord will either give us continued peace about where we are or completely change both mine & Patrick's (we are both in agreement about needing to continue to wait at this point) hearts by giving us a desire to start a family, depending on what His will is.   As of now, we are confident that God has called me to another year of ministry with CRU--at this point as the only active female staff member on our team at WKU.  I will update soon on the end of the semester as well--the last several weeks have been so fruitful and joyous!  Sometimes it is just so hard for me to focus on where God has called me in this moment instead of looking always to the next step.

The Waiting Game

Sorry for my prolonged absence over here! I have so many things I want to post--ministry updates, the lessons I write for Bible study, and a study guide for the book that we're going through--but sometimes living life gets in the way of writing about it!  Go figure ;)

One of the most special gifts that I received for Christmas was a copy of Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest daily devotional journal that my dad went through over the past year and filled with messages, notes, and prayers for me.  This year I am going through that book & his notes as part of my own devotional time. 

The entry for today was on the discipline of waiting on God referencing John 13:37

"Peter said to Him, 'Lord, why can I not follow You now?'"

How much does that statement hit home?!?!  In our culture, everything is so instantaneous that I don't believe we know how to wait.  If a line is too long we jump in another or go somewhere else.  If we are having a hard time at our jobs we quit.  If a relationship is difficult we end it.   We have fast food, Netflix, "on demand" channels & DVRs, microwaves...every convenience to give us what we want right NOW.  I'm not saying that all these things are inherently bad, but that they reinforce a culture of impatience. 

Chambers says:

"When God brings a time of waiting, and appears to be unresponsive, don't fill it with busyness, just wait. ...  Never run before God gives you His direction."

That is such a hard thing to do.  In the Abide in Christ book that I'm going through with the girls I disciple it lays out our only real responsibilities as believers:  "to yield, to trust, to wait." As we discuss that I've asked each girl which one is hardest for them.  The answer varies, but for me, the hardest is always the waiting.  I feel like I can yield things to the Lord and trust Him for a time, but as I start to grow uncomfortable and impatient I always try to take it into my own hands. 

The best example in my life from a time when I learned to trust Him was last year as hubs & I were going through the process of changing my career.  There had been several times over the years when I was dissatisfied with my former job and wanted to leave, but it wasn't the right time.  I stuck with it until last February when I knew that a change had to take place, but had no idea what that was. We tried to make our own options happen--to find the perfect job quickly & on our own.  The months went by and finally God provided exactly what He wanted me to do!  It's crazy because the policy changes & new business that have made it possible for me to do ministry through GSN partnering with Campus Crusade did not exist a few years ago.  If, in my impatience, I had chosen to leave my job when I first wanted to, or even within those first few months of questioning, I would have settled for less than God's best.  By waiting--as hard as it was--He provided EXACTLY what I had always wanted to do--what He had called me to. 

Now, that is one example in my life when I did this right--the majority of the time I am so controlling that I just try to make things happen how I would like to see them go--and I am the queen of "busyness" for sure.  But what a comfort we have to know that God knows what is best and wants just that for our lives!  We just have to learn to wait!