Welcome! As I write, I see red and golden leaves swaying on tree limbs. Most leaves are still green, but I think we’re going to have an early fall in the Atlantic community. Fall is a season of change, and I sense my life is changing direction. Just as there are four seasons each year, we experience seasons in our lives. We transition from childhood to adolescence, young adulthood to middle age, then from middle age to our twilight years. All these phases include lifestyle changes.
My daily walks are a simple example of change. I walk outside as long as it’s warmer than 30 degrees. In November I’ll renew my membership in Thiel College’s Blue-Gold Club so I can walk in their fitness center. It’s a blessing to have an affordable option to walking in snow and ice. But walking on a treadmill isn’t as uplifting as breathing the Atlantic community’s fresh air and feeling sunshine on my face as I walk.
But this fall I feel a different sort of change. I’ve been blessed to be a stay-at-home mom for 14 years. I don’t know many women who’ve had that opportunity. I never had to put my kids into daycare. I was always their primary caregiver, which was my husband’s and my plan. Sometimes life doesn’t go to plan; this time it did. It was obviously God’s will. But my kids aren’t babies anymore. They are quite self-sufficient, in fact, and I feel God urging me to turn my life in a new direction.
I’ve spent time in prayer, journaling, and talking with strong Christians whose opinions I value. I feel sure I’ve heard from God, and I’m excited about the path he’s set me on. It’s going to be a long climb, but He’ll get me there.
It’s going to involve dramatic changes. I’ll have to say no to people more often. I’ll have to make my kids do more things for themselves. And I’ll have to organize my time efficiently. But I feel sure obeying God in this situation is as crucial as it was when my husband and I obeyed His call to have children and move from the Akron area back to Fallowfield. These decisions have directed the past 14 years of my life, and I believe the choices I’m making now will have long-lasting results, too. But I believe this is a good plan, one God is directing.
Are you standing at a crossroads? Do you feel God knocking on the door of your heart? If you do, pray for His guidance. Then pray and pray some more. I’ll join you.
Before I forget, there will be a Seniors for Safe Driving class held at the I.O.O.F Hall in Atlantic on Wednesday, October 4, from 1 to 5 p.m. Seniors who attend the class will receive a five percent reduction on their auto insurance premium. If you’ve taken the class before, you’ll need to repeat it every three years to maintain the premium reduction.
Have a wonderful week. Blessings!