A New Season

It's here. The year 2010 is fully upon us. Sounds crazy to even say, but it's true. And I find myself not only in a new year, but really in an entirely new season of my life. I say this because of two reasons: 1. I am officially a "stay at home mom" now; and 2. Baby #2 is well on the way! Yes, I am 16 1/2 weeks pregnant with my second.
My last days as an employee lasted a little longer than what I planned. I didn't really finish until just before Christmas. Guess you could say that it's not always so easy to "cut the cord" when you've been a part of something for almost 7 years. But that chapter has now closed, and I feel much relief from it. And now I'm here, trying to sort through what my day-to-day life should look like going forward. It's kind of weird, but it's exciting too. I feel like this is literally the first moment I've had to reflect on my life, this new season and the new year. The holidays are great and wonderful, but sometimes they have a way of distracting us from the stillness and quietness of the moment. So I'm just trying to think through some things now, and pray about what these next few months will look like before I enter into another whirlwind of a transition that comes with adding another child. By they way, I'm beginning to have more consistent "freak out" moments when I think about the fact that in 5 months from now we will be a FAMILY OF FOUR!! Good gracious! One day at a time...one day at a time. The best place to be is when we feel like we don't know what we're doing, because it causes us to depend on God more. And I know that come June, I will be calling on His help more than ever before. It's going to be another exciting adventure.
Right after I made the decision to leave my job, my good friend Kobie shared some really encouraging quotes with me. These quotes come from one of my absolute favorite books: Walking on Water by Madeleine L'Engle. In her book, she shares her reflections on faith and art. Anyway, I wanted to share the quotes, because they are so fitting for this new season of my life as a mom, wanting to be stirred more and more to live creatively and passionately. Hope they encourage you too...
"But if women are to be free to choose to pursue a career as well as marriage, they must also be free to choose the making of a home and the nurture of a family as their vocation; that was Meg's choice, and a free one, and it was as creative a choice as if she had gone on to get a PhD. in quantum mechanics." AND...
"When we are writing, or painting, or composing, we are, during the time of creativity, free from normal restrictions, and are opened to a wider world, where colours are brighter, sounds clearer, and people more wondrously complex than we normally realize."
So in this new season of my life, I'm praying that my world will become wider, colors brighter, sounds clearer and people, friends, family and those I don't know yet, become more of an exciting and creative adventure for me to pursue. Looking forward to what 2010 has to bring.