One of the Hardest Decisions I Had to Make for My Children…
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It wasn’t a schooling decision…home or community.
Or how much money to save.
That hard decision for my children wasn’t healthy food choices or the best preschool method.
Which Bible to read or what time to have meals.
Simply:
it was giving up participating in the worship ministry at church.
I had to stop playing in the orchestra…singing with the choir.
Doesn’t that seem….weird?
The God who wired me to love music, gave me the education to teach music, and provided the ability to play…He impressed on my heart to stop being an active part of the weekly rehearsals and worship services in order to focus on my family. It truly was one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make. My heart is in it, I love it…doesn’t it just make sense to do it? But through His Word and spending time with Him, my ministry, my calling, became extremely clear to me.
My first ministry needs to be my family.
Prioritizing my family is a conscious, daily, even minute-by-minute, decision. It’s difficult at times, to say no to good activities; and the balancing act of motherhood seems to continually teeter in one direction or another.
Although it has been a year and a half since I’ve played in the orchestra, I’m still involved in church ministry. Multiple ones, actually. But the time allotted to them is not the same as the amount of time I was spending in worship rehearsals. Practically speaking, my highest percentage of time of service goes to my family, and for me,right now, this is the right thing to do.
How about you? Has God ever asked you to re-align yourself with His highest calling for your life?
My friend, Ruth, over at the Better Mom, is talking about this on her fabulous blog for moms. The @GraceFullMama is helping other moms process what God has for them; can you take a peek?
Okay, this is so weird… I was just talking to my husband the other day about our desire for our son to be in the worship service with us each Sunday morning, rather than playing in the church nursery. All of a sudden it hit me: as much as I love singing on the worship team {my husband is the worship leader}, I’m going to have to lay that down in order to live for the bigger picture, that is: showing my son how mommy and daddy worship and also teaching him to worship God and listen to the pastor.
Thanks for sharing this!
You go! It’s so difficult to lay down things we love to do things we know are priority. But I really believe the Lord just has me out for a “season”. Babies don’t stay babies for long and family dynamics continually change. You are welcome; let me know how it goes!
I gave up a wonderful part-time job that allowed me to work at home. My husband and I felt that I needed to be more focused on our family and that it was my part-time job that was the thing that needed to go. So we felt that we had to sell our house to make that happen. I was afraid that my girls would resent my decision to stay home with them as it meant a hit to our budget and selling our house and most likely moving out of the Elementary zone we are currently in. But my husband I were confident in my decision to no longer work.
Well, God had other plans. Two weeks after putting our house on the market my job left me…yes, I was let go. After 10 years of faithful service, all the sudden my “skills were no longer needed”. I see it as an answer to prayer as now I didn’t leave my job but it was taken from me. God provided the funds for us to remain in our house for another year. We are now in the process of trying to determine if the house should go back on the market this spring. But with this timing now some other options might be available to us. We are praying and seeking what is on His agenda for us.
I may have been surprised by the events, but God wasn’t.
Oh, Becki! What a great story to tell your children in the future. The ways God provided for your family. I have a similar story. The Lord gradually moved me from a full-time career woman to a full-time wife and mom with part-time home businesses over the course of a few years. I’m so very thankful!!
I actually gave up worship team too for the same reasons:) Thanks for sharing…you will be blessed.
Always interesting to find one is not alone! Definitely already been blessed. There will be a season for it again! 🙂
Oh Rachel thank you for sharing your heart. I agree that sometimes there are things that we love dearly that we have to give up for a season. Although it is hard, it is so freeing once you do it. Thank you for linking up and for sharing your journey with us 🙂
Thanks, Ruth, for stopping by and your comment. The part about “freeing”- YES. So true. Thanks again!
Bless you Rachel for your decision and your submission to God in this. We live in a world that does not generally honor or value such a decision — and often the Church has been affected by this way of thinking. But, I was just reading in Beth Moore’s Devotional “Paul:90 Days on His Journey of Faith” on Titus 2:4-5, that women were admonished to be “busy at home” and that “the original word for ‘busy’ means ‘one who looks after domestic affairs with prudence and care'”. (p.419). God honors a dedication to this ministry of family and values it immensly. It struck me because I get so forgetful of that. My girls are grown but I too had to give up my ministry of teaching (ha…not really, just in any discernable way to the “observer’s” eye, if you know what I mean.) I am still in the family ministry with my husband, a daughter just finishing university and a daughter (26) who is dealing with many and varied serious complications from a bonemarrow transplant. I am constantly having to lean hard on my God and remember that this work is a work of worship regardless of what others — or even myself — may think or say. So, although you are not in the orchestra or choir right now — worship Him with your whole heart in this. It is a lovely song to His ear!
Blessings,
Debbie
Thanks, Debbie! Appreciate your testimony of worship to me! Many blessings to you and yours.
Oh this happened to me.
When my oldest was a wee babe I left the semi-professional orchestra that I played trombone with.
It broke my heart, but there was no way around it. It was what He was telling me to do.
He gave orchestral music back to me, in an incredible, miraculous way. But if I hadn’t been obedient and taken the year off of leading the community band in the town where I am the school band director, and left the orchestra, I would have had to turn down the super blessing because of scheduling conflicts.
And . . .when the same sn was a little older, and starting to really struggle with obedience himself, it was my turn to leave the worship team that fed my spirit and that I had waited and prayed for.
So, my friend, I truly do understand this.
He will bless the obedience.
And He has amazing things in store. 🙂
Thank you!!! I’m always eager to see what is next on the agenda. God’s, not mine. 🙂