I woke up at 4 am.  It’s called jetlag.  As I was about to get out of bed, my husband summoned me back to bed…”Go back to sleep. You need to stay in bed and get your body back to normal,” he said in his tired Steve voice.

So I lay there and thought and thought and thought some more.

I have many things on my mind.  Change is a coming.  My big news that I have been waiting to tell you all really isn’t like this monumental life change.  No, I am not adopting a child.  No, we are not moving to Africa or anything like that.  My big news is that I will be starting a full-time position with Compassion this month.  I got a call while we were in Paris with the job offer.

Change is coming!

Up until this point, I have been leading trips with Compassion then coming home and working for Support for Early Learning and Families.  It’s all been so good.  I have an amazing group of people here in town I have been working with; I have this amazing job that takes me overseas. However, working two different jobs has started to take its toll on me.  I was having a hard time switching gears, going back and forth.  I began to pray about it.  After my last trip to Ethiopia, I really felt like something was stirring in my heart.  Was God calling me?  I didn’t know why, but I felt like things were about to change.  I prayed that God would guide me, lead me and direct my paths.  He knows my heart and my desires.  He knows our needs as a family.

I prayed,  “Lord, let your will be done.”

Then I waited to hear.

When the job offer came while I was in Paris, we celebrated.  Still, there was some sadness of saying goodbye to another job that I loved.  Bitter sweet.

So now we are getting ready to set up my office in the home.  We are rearranging bedrooms.  Both Steve and I will be full-time now.  The girls are preparing to step up and help.  They are so excited for me.  It’s because they love Compassion too, and we as family have a mission.  We are in it together and this is why I can do this.

As a mom, it’s always a hard balancing act to work outside the home and inside the home.  My girls are older now and independent, but they still need me.  They still need me to be available. They still need my time.  The balancing act between full time job with travel, and home will be my challenge.  I will need prayer.  I couldn’t do this without the support of a strong family. Our moms (the grandmas), our friends, and our new church family have surrounded us with so much support.

What a privilege for me to work for Compassion; an organization that I love so much and feel so passionate about.  What an honor to be able to lead trips and help organize trips for churches here in America to meet the church overseas and see the work of God in lives of children around the world.  What an answer to prayer to be able to do something with my life that connects to my heart and connects to the hearts of my children and husband.

Change is coming…and I am excited.