Seems like most of life is waiting. Waiting to get out of school, waiting to get a job, waiting to get married, waiting to get pregnant, waiting to have the baby, waiting till that baby sleep through the night, and you know the rest of the story.
After three children, I waited almost 7 years, with two miscarriages, before I got pregnant with sweet baby Joy. At 41 years old, I was so excited to have the opportunity of another sweet little girl. And then I waited through months of morning sickness, swollen ankles, wandering through sleepy days, waiting for the reward slowly coming at the end of my pregnancy.
After thirty weeks of pregnancy, contractions began coming so often, my doctor told me I was in danger of having little Joy too early. For eight weeks, I was put to bedrest, and waited and waited and waited in forced quietness for her to develop enough for me to go into a healthy labor..
Fast forward. At 38 weeks, my doctor said I could enter back into a normal life. I gingerly got out of bed rest and prepared for her birth. Since my others had been born at 38 weeks, I readied myself for her imminent coming.
And then I waited again. And waited. At 42 weeks, I was as big as a barn, or at least felt like it, and was still waiting and waiting. Nothing could move this child--not walking 5 miles, getting stung by a scorpion, or chasing after 3 other kids would bring her out. Finally, at almost midnight, my water broke and Joy Marie entered the world. I thought she would never come!
Joy was well worth the wait, a thousand times over. My effervescent source of joy, a bestie to walk through life with, a spiritual resource of wisdom and thought and a friend of my heart who companions me through life as a strong supporter and kindred spirit. Yes, all those times of waiting for her to process built one of the best gifts God has given.
Have you ever had something in your life that you were planning on, wanted to see it to fruition, and yet you had to wait and wait and wait? A remodeling job, a vacation, a move to a another home, a pregnancy, or the opportunity to work on a project, a new job, another baby?
For over a the last year and a half, I have wanted to design my own new website--one with more photos, a place that would better express my heart and store all of my words in a way that would be easier to engage in, a holding place for my podcasts--and lots of lovely, beautiful life-giving photos.
Yet, since I am limited, and not a blog designer, and had piles of responsibilities on my to do list, I had to wait. There was that 3 months of constant out of town company, two of my kids moving home, another two children far away going through life crisis that required a lot of time. Thanksgiving,Christmas holidays, the book launch, the conferences, blog posts, trips, and still everyone wanted to eat 3 times a day and bills had to be paid and the house cared for, and and and...life! And so I put the new blog design on the back burner and planned and waited and lived my daily life with the dreams still perking in my mind.
Often women say, "How do you do it all?"
My answer, "I don't do it all. What I do is imperfect and it is working over a very long time."
I have learned that if I am to thrive personally, in ministry, in marriage, in physical health, I have to keep the center priorities at the center and do the other things little by little. And so this blog languished. I knew I could do something more beautiful, more appealing, but I had to take care of my other responsibilities first.
Often, women say, "I know I have a book cooking inside of me. I believe God has called me to a ministry to women but it means I will have to leave my children in order to do it."
In my own personal experience, dreams take a lifetime. But messages of integrity come through years of being faithful to our priorities, years of living a true life so that truth can be written from experience and wisdom, and not just from desire. God gives all of us different capacity and a different puzzle. Sometimes very young women accomplish a lot. (Joy and Sarah amaze me at their ability to think, write, be productive.) But often, as in the life of Joseph of the Bible, dreams are a long term process.
But dreams and ideals fuel our passion to keep going in the direction of creative projects, meaningful engagement and a heart belief that somehow our lives can make a difference in our world.
And so today, I share my new blog with you, a fun dream in the imagination over the past months, incomplete, still pages to fill out, surprises to come. I would love for you to go to the home page, to scroll down and see the new pages, to see the ones coming soon, and to pray that many will find encouragement in these pages.
But my prayer is that this will be a space where we can celebrate life, ideals, faith, motherhood, goals, fun, friendship and celebration of life. I am so very happy you have joined in this space. I would love hear from you! Let me know what you think!
Joy, my angel gift from God worth the wait, a thousand times over!