Life is tough…if you do it right (Part 3)

Lesson #3: “Those who hear not the music think the dancer is mad.”

I own a 4 bedroom house on an acre and a half lot that sits on a golf course. I have a pool, great neighbors, and live in the perfect location. I’ve lived here for 20 years. I’ve lived in the same area my entire life and know people everywhere I go. I have a great job that pays well with great benefits and many of the people I work with are counting the years to retirement. I’ve been obsessed with eliminating debt and I’ve been able to provide my kids with not everything, but everything they need and a little more. I’m middle class by every standard.

My life has not been easy. I’ve been through more than most people ever will and only recently have I been “released” and has anyone known. I’ve also been a single mom for almost a decade. My ex has not made a child support payment or spoken to my kids in nearly all of that time. After 11 years of my 3 guys playing travel hockey (9 of which I have also been a coach) and years of band concerts, awards ceremonies, parent-teacher conferences, and getting everyone to work and school on time every day, you would think I would be looking forward to having some “down time” in a few years.

But that is not God’s plan. It would be easy to sit back and relax. I “deserve it”…right? Instead, I’m leaving all of this and moving to a place I don’t know, an area where I know no one, to a job that is a vision, and a to future that to many is “uncertain” at best. Not only am I doing this, but my kids are in the thick of it all.

Yet there has not been one doubt in my mind that God is calling us to do this. In the past 6 months, we could have backed out and no one else would have known. Over the past few years, God has called me to step out of my comfort zone and has challenged me to listen, trust and obey little steps at a time. Each time the challenge of faith has grown and each time the results have surpassed anything I could have imagined. This one is just one more step, bigger than the last, more challenging, yet I can’t wait to see what lies ahead.

Since we’ve “gone public” with the news, I’ve heard mixed reactions. I’ve experienced wonderful support and many who have said they wished they were as sure about something as I am. But I have also been called “stupid” and “crazy” and even asked “so you’re dragging along the boys on this too?”. A few friends have reacted with anger and have already begun to distance themselves.

I’m willing to look “stupid” because God has already started showing me how he can and will use me to reach people who are where I was. I am just a conduit that He is using to lead people to the healing and hope of Jesus. Not everyone understands that. I’m willing to give up comfort and an “easy life” to passionately pursue people who are struggling, suffering, and searching for meaning and their purpose in life. In many ways it’s tough…but it’s soooo right.