The Better Plan

May 9, 2014

Twenty years after graduating high school, I walked across the stage at Austin Peay State University to receive my Bachelor of Science, with a concentration in Communications. My heart raced with excitement and anticipation as I made my way to the platform. Less than a minute later, after a quick handshake with President Tim Hall, the moment was gone.

I was a college graduate who was ready to start her career as a writer.

February 9, 2017

I am a homeschool mom, a wife, and a blogger. After careful consideration and much prayer, I chose to stay home and put my career on a shelf. For now, it is the best decision for my family.

Every week, I write a blog post about my life experiences and hope people find some inspiration out of it. My writing is not a journalistic masterpiece, a well-written manual, or a stellar creative work. It is a compilation of my joys, adventures, triumphs, mistakes, and trials. My blog is a relatively small platform, and I do not get paid for it. I am not sure if I ever will.

Is this where I thought I would be two and a half years after graduation?

Nope.

I knew I would be writing a blog, and I knew it would take some time to get it established and to acquire a larger audience. So, the blog is right on target. My paid professional career is not.

I thought I would be working, at a desk job or as a freelance writer, for a magazine, newspaper, or company by now. I had hoped to start working on my first book within two years, and I wanted to have several new creative pieces written and added to my portfolio.

Instead, I sit at home and supervise my children’s education, and help a friend brush up on her writing skills. I have added only one professional piece to my portfolio, and I barely find time to write anything creative. I have made few professional contacts, and I do not have any paid positions lined up. My prospective writing career looks pretty bleak.

If I look at where I am now, compared to where I aspired to be, I might see my lack of professional accomplishments as failures. The last two and a half years could look like a waste of time. I could define my worth by what I have not accomplished and stay defeated by my altered plan.

However, I choose to see my journey differently. What I could perceive as failures have been growth opportunities.

Every time I write a blog post, help my friend improve her writing skills, or teach my children about grammar and essay construction, I am becoming a better writer. I am collecting book ideas from my life experiences, and I am gaining fresh education from reading articles about writing. I am attending weekend conferences to stretch my writing skills, and they are helping me gain confidence as a writer. I am learning to prioritize my schedule in order to add in creative writing time. I am doing research about writing positions so I can narrow down the kinds of positions I want in the future.

My professional path may look crooked, but it will eventually straighten out. I am choosing the better path – to trust in God’s plan for my life, including his detours. Whether it is this year or many years from now, I believe I will have a career, and God is using my time at home to prepare me for it.

Are there any hopes, dreams, or aspirations on your shelf? Is there an area of your life that needs a new perspective? Is your “waste of time” really preparing you for a greater destiny?

Feel free to share your answers in the comments.

See you next week.