Has God ever surprised you with a complete change of direction in your life? You are going along just fine, thinking you finally got the hang of this life. Things are running smoothly. You've worked out quite a few of the kinks in your routine. Life is good. Then suddenly, BAM! Change of plans! Now something completely new and different--something you are totally unprepared for--is suddenly your new path. A Divine Interruption.
My life seems to be seasoned with these. Granted, the new path is always much more beautiful than the previous one. But, to be quite honest, when these Divine Interruptions first happen, I am very disoriented for a while. It seems that all I can do is put one foot in front of the other. One step at a time. Trusting, all the while, that the great engineer knows exactly where I am headed and why I was removed from the previous path.
My first Divine Interruption happened in June of 2000. I was living out my early 20's on my terms...having fun and shirking responsibility. Even though I had been raised in a Christian home, I had chosen to go against most of the values I had been taught. My self-destruction was steadily increasing. I had no plans to change this, either, despite the fact that I was not very happy with my life. Then came the unexpected pregnancy. Divine Interruption. God knew that a baby was the one thing that would pull me out of my self-indulgent, irresponsible behavior. I now had someone else to think of, not just myself. I began a long, slow process of seeking out God. Over a year later, I found my amazingly gracious Saviour Jesus Christ, and on my baby's first birthday I was baptized. If it had not been for that child, I shudder to think where I would be right now. That precious baby (my first Divine Interruption), who turned my life around through his very existence, is now 10 years old! Hard to believe.
So, there I was: a single mom. I moved back home to Texas and shortly thereafter into my parents' rental house. I was able to get a full-time job working for an airline that I had worked for previously. I enjoyed the work and was with old friends and a dear mentor. Life was starting to get stable for me. That is until the summer of 2001, when my brother was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He was living in Colorado at the time, and since my parents were close to early-retirement age, they decided to move. In order to do so, they had to sell both of their houses. I did not pay full rental price for their house, and could not afford full rental price even for an apartment. I could not survive without their help, in many ways. Along came September 11th, 2001. Needless to say, airlines began laying off employees in droves. I volunteered for the lay-off and moved to Colorado with my family. Divine Interruption #2. What an amazing thing! I cannot imagine what my life would be like if I had stayed in Texas. I love Colorado and cannot begin to count the number of blessings in my life that came from moving here.
Shortly after the big move, I met my soul-mate. We were married a year and a half later, and within two years had two more boys. I'm not exaggerating...our baby was born the day after our second anniversary! In that time, my wonderful husband was able to adopt my oldest as well. So many blessings in such a short amount of time, to be sure. So here I was, mom of three energy-filled, dirt-covered balls of germs. ;-) Some days, I just couldn't wait until they were all in school! My oldest went off to kindergarten, as I cried of course. He 'graduated' and moved up to first grade and all was well. I was adjusting to this new world of elementary school...learning the ins and outs of it all. We had a few issues come up here and there that we weren't very happy about. But, hey, there will always be something you don't like, right?
Well, about midway through his first grade year, when I am consumed with frustration over a few things at his school, my husband comes home from work one day and says to me, "Would you ever consider homeschooling the boys?" Uh....come again?! I knew some people who homeschooled their children and they seemed so calm and organized and creative. I am none of those. Not even close. In fact, a couple weeks prior to this question that came out of the blue, I was telling one of those people how much I admired them for homeschooling. Then I added, and I believe this is a direct quote, "But there is no way in hell I would ever be able to do it!" In comes Divine Interruption #3. Needless to say, we pulled our son out of school just a few weeks later and have never looked back. Within weeks of doing so, my sweet natured, loving boy was back....he had vanished in the short time he had been attending the local school.
We LOVE homeschooling, for so many reasons. It is truly one of the best things that has happened to our family. Now, don't get me wrong...some days are really difficult. And some days are incredibly rewarding. It is a process. It is a tremendous growth opportunity for everyone in our family. I like to say that homeschooling is the sandpaper that is smoothing out my rough edges. Because if you are around anyone all day everyday, you are going to get on each others' nerves from time to time! But, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I am always happy to talk homeschooling for anyone who will listen. So if you ever have questions about it, feel free to ask me.
The most recent Divine Interruption is still in progress. God spoke to my heart last summer regarding orphans. He has continually brought it to the forefront of my world. I don't know where it will ultimately lead us, I just know that any other time a completely unexpected path has been set before me, immense blessings followed my obedience. So for now, as I continue to trust Him and where He is leading me, I am embarking on a new adventure. I am attempting to raise awareness and money for children who need a forever family. Other parts of my blog, and many posts in the future to be sure, will have more information on how you can help. You don't have to adopt an orphan to help change an orphan's life. There are so many other ways to do that. Please take some time to check out some of the resources I have on this blog.
If you have a roof over your head and enough food to sustain you, you are better off than many. So many. Innocent children who have been abandoned for one reason or another. No matter how little you have, there is always something you can do.
Do something!
So for now, I will leave off here. I hope that you will enjoy reading about my continued saga of Divine Interruptions and that maybe you will take notice of the ones in your life, as well. I have found that when I see them for what they really are (rather than the nuisance they can seem to be at first), life is much more peaceful. Being content and confident in the midst of chaos is true peace. And knowing that God is directing my path allows me to know that kind of peace.
May God richly bless you with some Divine Interruptions!
Proverbs 19:21 -- Proverbs 3:5-6 -- Philippians 4:6-7 -- Hebrews 13:5
