I am learning that life is a lot like an international flight with lots of layovers. Some layovers are longer than others and have more time to visit in the city you are in, but ultimately you know that none of them are your final destination; nor do you try to rush it because you know you have no control over the schedule. So you sit and wait (as patiently as possible) or make most of your time there…

If you have followed along with my blog,  you are well aware of how disconnected Jake and I felt when we returned to Florida from Guatemala. We didn’t feel like it was home anymore. When we walked into Calvary (our church) for the first time after being gone for 8 weeks, we felt lost and out-of-place. We didn’t feel like we belong, not only there, but anywhere. The feeling did not get better in the following few weeks. Jake and I both felt it was a sure sign we needed to move to Alabama, which we did!

That was 2 months ago and everyday God reassures us that we made the right decision!!

Even though everything is going great in Thomasville, we wanted to go back to Florida for a few days. So, this past weekend Jake and I headed to Florida for a long weekend. We headed down on Friday and returned on Monday.

I have to say that it did not feel like the same place we had left or maybe we weren’t the same. Either way, it had this feeling of home again! Jake spent the weekend with his dad and siblings and I stayed with a friend. We got to see friends and enjoy the convenience and accessibility to malls, theaters and restaurants…luxuries we don’t have living in a small town. Church on Sunday was great! I got to enjoy a contemporary service with my favorite Pastor and drums! Jake and I attend a small traditional church in Thomasville, so I was dancing and praising my heart out!

Although Florida is home again, Jake and I both know that we currently belong in Thomasville. We both have this certainty that we are right where we need to be in order to get to where God wants us to be in the future…just another layover, I guess. However, unlike a normal layover we are not sure when our next flight will be or if this will be our last layover. So, we will enjoy our time here and wait on the Great Pilot let us know when it is time to board for the next leg!

And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!” Genesis 17:18

God told Abraham that he would have a son, but when it wasn’t happening, Abraham and Sarah took it into their own hands; they had Ishmael.  Fortunately, just because Abraham and Sarah were settling for Ishmael, God wasn’t. As the story goes on, God tells Abraham that they will be having Isaac so His covenant would be carried out through him. God didn’t say Ishmael was bad, he just wasn’t Isaac.

How many times have you settled for Ishmael when God has Isaac for you? You think God is either taking too long or He really isn’t going to come through with His promise, so you go off make your own version of the promise? You accept that position because you don’t see the bigger opportunity down the road. You go out with the guy with all the lines when the nice guy is waiting in the wings.

We do it all the time; settling for Ishmael when God has Isaac for us. My prayer is that we never get so consumed with Ishmael that there is no room for Isaac!

Jake is growing. It is evident just by looking at him. But if you don’t know Jake or if you don’t believe he has grown, just look at his knees. There seems to be new stretch marks popping up every week. You can also tell when he complains of his knees and ankles hurting…growing pains!

Growing pains normally happen in your adolescent years, but I am learning that they can also affect us in our mid-30s! Living in a tight-knit small, loving and caring community, I had been struggling with the guilt of not being a good enough kind and loving mother. I had also been faced with the reality that I like making goals, but I am not goal oriented enough to meet said goals.

However, in the midst of my pity party, I was reminded that the people I was comparing myself to, had (and some still have) parents who encouraged and taught them how to be succesful adults and parents. Since my mother passed away when I was 14 and my dad was so emotionally effected by her death, I wasn’t as fortunate. Now, this isn’t a bash on my dad or an excuse for me, it’s just the facts.

Now, common sense and the grace of God have allowed me to raise a pretty good kid and I would consider myself a pretty honest and genuine person. But I can’t help but think how much better we would be if we did have the examples to teach us how we could be more goal oriented, keep a budget, be kind and follow God?

Thankfully, we live in a small town and have a Heavenly Father who is in the restoration business, so we have the opportunity to find out! Albeit painful, when the pain is over, we will both be stronger, taller and have the stretch marks to prove it!! 😉