I went with my daughter Kaylee to get our hair done for the holidays. The plan was to go together and take turns watching Ireland while the other gets her hair done. Our hairdresser has two little girls who loved playing with Ireland. It was fun watching these little girls have so much fun together!
Watching Ireland play with other children today made me realize just how fast she is growing up. I swear it was just yesterday that my four kids who are now 16, 19, 23, and 24 were just babies. Time really does fly by so fast. It seems that when you are a young mother you seem to stress and worry about everything little thing, but as a grandma you seem to just sit back and enjoy the time watching your children raise their children and then helping them out whenever you can!
It has been such a blessing to raise our children but also to be able to play such an important role in the lives of my grandchildren! I love every minute of it!
In fact, I was thinking back about when I was teaching 2nd grade right after I graduated from college just two years ago. It was the spring of 2012, which was only 6 months before I started with the symptoms of my disease. I remember my last semester of college and trying to decided on where and what school I wanted to teach at. I took my plea to the Lord and after searching and narrowing it down to a few different schools I prayed earnestly for an answer. I remember obtaining the answer so clearly and vividly a few days later. I was driving home from school and did not receive an exact answer as to what school I should teach at, but instead these words came into my mind, "You will go where you will make the most difference." At the time I would have to admit I was pretty estatic at that answer, as I thought that meant I would go and teach at some inner city school or a school that had a great deal of struggling readers, where I could put my language art skills to good use. I was super excited to see where this would lead me.
It was about 1 month later that the charter school (North Star Academy) called me and offered me a position teaching 2nd grade. I told them I still had my student teaching to do. The principal said we will work it out with your University and see if we can hire you to be the full-time teacher as well as consider it your student teaching position. This school knew me as I had worked there as an aide before returning to obtain my teaching degree full time. My two youngest children went to school there, in fact, my daughter, Shaniah still had her 9th grade year still left to go in that school.
I wondered how this very successful school was going to allow me "to make the most difference" when this teaching position just fell into my lap. But I knew I needed to trust in the Lord and his plan for me. It was 5 months into the school year when my symptoms of the disease began. I went through the next 3 months in and out of the ER and Insta-care due to the chest pain and breathing problems.
Two months before my 1st year of teaching 2nd grade ended my health really went down hill, and a chest x-ray revealed lung scarring which led to other tests and then a diagnosis of sarcoidosis.
But the moral of this story was not about the disease I was diagnosed with, but instead what I have learned in the process of what my answer to the prayer really meant. I have learned that "going where I would make the most difference" was not in some inner city or title one school, nor was it for me to become teacher of the year or receive an educator award. I graduated from college with straight A's at the top of my class. I knew I could teach in whatever circumstances I would be placed in. Teaching to me was easy and I think the Lord knew that. He knew that in order for me to become stronger, he would need to throw an even greater challenge at me! I never even imagined back then that "making the most difference" would be within the walls of my own home.
But since then I have come to full realization that I am exactly where I am supposed to be right now. I am at home with my children and grandchildren. I am at the place the Lord intended for me to be, the place where I am making the most difference to the people who matter most in my life!
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