Well, hello there! Are you new here? I feel like I should be asking this of myself! I’ve been thinking for a while of returning to blogging. Not having to start from scratch is sure a blessing! I’m sure this blog will experience a few minor changes in the near future: like maybe the color scheme or even the name, but overall everything is pretty much still gonna be the same. It’s just me sharing my heart, sharing the wisdom that I hear God speaking and hoping to do it in a way that brings a little humor and joy into your life while I do.
There’s been a lot of life changes since the last time I wrote in here. Our son is married, and he and our daughter-in-law are expecting their first baby very soon! (Dave & I are very excited to become Pops & Mimi!) His twin sister is finishing up grad school at the University of Tennessee - soon to become a speech language pathologist. And our youngest daughter is working full-time & getting ready to start a new job. My husband and I are what I would call “almost empty-nesters”. Our youngest daughter still lives with us, but we’re all done homeschooling & hauling kids around to basketball & dance.
Instead of homeschooling, I now have two jobs: one where I work outside the home three days a week and one as a certified Christian life coach. As a former stay-at-home homeschool mom, this new phase of life means that I’m really learning who I am for the first time in a long time. I used to be defined as the homeschool mom or the basketball mom or the dance mom. My life revolved around my children (and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way). Homeschooling and staying home to raise our three kids was the biggest blessing of my entire life! If my husband and I could go back and redo that moment in time - we wouldn’t change a thing. You simply can’t put $ on the amount of time we had together and the memories we made over all those years (10 years of homeschooling all 3 kids, 14 years total).
However, I wasn’t fully prepared for the emotional toll of putting that phase of life behind me. I’ve been saying for a while that I really wish there were some books out there on this topic. I think there’s a lot of books about being empty-nesters, but none that I found for former homeschool empty-nesters. That’s a whole different thing (especially when our two oldest are twins)! When your life was filled with homeschooling and sports and spending tons of time with your kids…going from that to a near empty house almost takes your breath away. And when you combine that with 2/3 of your kids moving far away from home and not being able to see them very often… let’s just say the last few years have allowed me to do a lot of soul-searching and personal development.
God has been so gracious to me during this transition. And bringing life coaching into my world, was truly the thing that I needed to regain a sense of excitement about the future. It’s like my purpose was defined by being a full-time homeschooling mom. That was the thing I felt I had been put on this earth to do. I was in need of a new purpose & life coaching gave that to me!
Prior to becoming a certified life coach a year ago, I was (and still am) in a life coaching program where I’m the one being coached. I needed that more than I could possibly put into words. That life coaching program came into my life in June of 2022 - when I was at the lowest I had ever been. I felt alone & unwanted & worthless. I was wondering if I had any reason to live. If anyone would really care if I was gone. God used a dear friend & life coaching to pull me out of the darkest pit. The emotional resilience that I’ve learned, and the agency I’ve been able to take over my thought life because of those life coaching principles has truly been life-changing. Becoming a life coach just seemed like it was bringing together all my interests & spiritual gifts. It’s like God has been bringing me to this for my entire life! Helping my clients lean into who they are in Christ, helping them discover their gifts or have the courage to step out into something new is so exciting and so rewarding to be a part of. I am honored every time I start a session.
God is working on my heart and helping me to dream in ways that I haven’t been able to in a long time. There’s some big things coming from my little corner of the world. (Hopefully some very soon.) I love the people that God has brought into my life because of life coaching. And I’m excited beyond measure for what He’s got in store. I can’t wait to bring this blog back to life just like He brought me back from the lowest of lows. Until next time, friend. ❤️
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