Where do you want to be?

If someone would have told me 5 years ago that I would:

1 - marry a yankee :)

2 - work with kids

3 - have a kid 3 years after being married (or have a kid, period)

4 - live in Chickamauga

I think I would have laughed in their face. Well, here I am...almost to my 3 year anniversary to a YANKEE that I love dearly, work with kids day in and day out - with youth and 4th graders, we have a baby boy on the way, and it looks like we will be staying in Chickamauga or the surrounding area. Hmmm...it's funny (I don't think I am laughing yet) how the Lord has molded my life to what He wanted and yet it is so far from what I wanted, but it is exactly what I needed and where I need to be.

I love my husband. We rarely agree on much but he is one of the best things to have ever happened to me. We joke about our disagreements, right now, we can't even agree on our son's name. Which I know we have time, I just thought it would come a bit easier. Guess not. :) It will come though and we will have the perfect name for this little guy. But yes, Kraig is everything that the Lord has planned for me. He balances me out. He calms me down. He is the leader of our family and does a great job at it. He provides and listens to the Lord's will like you wouldn't believe. He is compassionate and loving and cares for others like they are his family. The Lord is so faithful and I am so thankful that He chose Kraig for me.

Growing up, I never wanted to work with kids, be around kids or have kids. So, here I am working in a school and loving every minute of it. They make me laugh. They are so sweet and caring. I love to come home and share a new story with Kraig about how funny the kids are. Or how the Lord is showing me something new through the eyes of His kids. It has turned into just what I needed. The Lord is so faithful in providing the perfect job for me even if I didn't want it to begin with.

This may sound horrible and I have prayed through this a lot. But I have never wanted children. I liked kids alright but I liked other people's kids. I couldn't wait to be an aunt and be the best aunt ever :) I just liked to give kids back to there parents. There are a lot of reasons why I never wanted kids and that may be for another post but yet, here again, here I am pregnant with our first little baby. And I COULDN'T BE HAPPIER. At first, I really struggled with it and again, maybe another post but after the first ultrasound, I was in love. I haven't loved everything about being pregnant but I have loved every time I feel a kick or get to hear the heartbeat or even gotten sick because that just affirms that the little guy is in there growing and waiting to come out to meet the world. Now, don't get me wrong, I am still scared out of my mind and terrified of being a mom to such a little guy. But through these past few months, the Lord has remained faithful and taught me so much about trust. I have come to realize ever more so than before, I can not and will not be able to raise this boy without the Lord's help. Kraig and I are very humbled by the fact that the Lord has trusted us enough to give us this blessing and we are very determined not to take this lightly. So, yes, we are very scared but we know that the Lord has trusted us so we have to trust Him to help us through and we are so excited for the process.

I love Chickamauga and this area very much. But I love to travel and see the world. I was determined to see the world and live in different places. Now, that still may happen but for now, the Lord has called us to stay in this area and plant our roots in the grounds of Chickamauga. This has been very hard for me because I don't like to plant my roots anywhere. :) But babies change things and so does the Lord. He knows exactly what we need and has opened many doors the last few months and now we can't imagine leaving the area. The Lord is faithful and we are trusting in His sovereignty to make it through.

I have been reading through the Bible this year, haven't gotten as far as I would like to be but I was in Genesis the other day. I was reading about when God called Abram and his family to a different area and through this process of them leaving, God continually said that He is with them and that He is going to bless them, I am not sure of all the background of the story off the top of my head right now (it's late) but from what I can remember, I am not completely sure that Abram wanted to leave his hometown and go to a new place. I know he did it though because the Lord was very adamant about where they should go. So, he went and the Lord took care of them and blessed them in the years to come with children and more. Well, I would not have chosen all of these things that are in my life right now, I would have wanted to be many other places, however...the Lord knows where HE wants me (us) to be and right now, He wants us to be here and who are we to fight against that?

I encourage you to ask the Lord where He wants you to be, not where you want to be...He will show you His will and give you the strength to do it.