Way Better Than a Degree!

Well...I still want to post pictures from my parents' visit, but before I get to that, I just have to say how overwhelmingly thankful I am for my husband and daughter...

It is such a joy to have the privilege of serving my husband and taking care of my daughter. It's funny how I still cringe a little when I hear parents talk about their requirements for their daughters...in getting a degree for college, because it is essential for their well being. No, people don't usually say it like that, but it comes across many times that way. I cringe a little, because there is always that little fear of man in me that creeps up whenever people talk like that...I start wondering, "well, what do they think of me?", or "did I make the wrong decision in not finishing school?", or "is my family going to suffer someday because I don't have a degree?", "Am I looked down upon because I am a college drop-out?"

Yes, these things pop up in my mind sometimes, but when I think about it, I have to laugh at my ridiculousness! God...yes the Lord HIMSELF gave me NO desire to stay in college and get a degree. He gave me no convictions that it is a requirement for godliness, and he gave me every desire to be married without divided attentions. So, I have to ask myself why I doubt my own convictions, and it is most definitely my fear of man. Man, and many believers, believe it is the "right" thing to do to go to college and get a degree...and it IS the right thing to do for many people, but NOT for everyone! It is SO easy as believers to take our convictions and "write" them into the Bible as laws, but it is not right to do so! God's ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts higher than our thoughts...and his ways for each person are uniquely different!

What I have to realize is that the Lord put me in a unique spot by bringing a wonderful man into my life who already had a career and was ready to settle down! My parents didn't raise me to love the idea of having a career someday...they raised me to love the Lord and to become a woman who pleases Him. They raised me to love the home (although I didn't do such a wonderful job) and instilled in me a desire to be a wife and mom someday. And I am SO thankful they did! And they sent me off to college to find a godly husband :)...it's true!!! Praise be to Him, He dropped one right in front of me :) If He hadn't brought Aaron into my life, than I probably would still be in school, but the point is that He DID bring him into my life, and He DID give me the desire to marry him and serve him whole-heartedly.

So...sometimes those sinful thoughts of "what-ifs" still creep up, but I have to preach to myself that God has indeed directed my steps through my desires, and rest completely in His Word. All I need to do is open my eyes, and see that God has abundantly blessed my life.

I have a husband is who is the greatest example of Christ in my life. He serves me constantly and joyfully, and usually at the expense of his own desires. He finds ways to love me when I may be having a rough time (he brought me home a beautiful bouquet of flowers a week ago today, and they are still standing tall and gorgeous---I have said something about them everyday to him...just so he doesn't forget how much I appreciate it! ;)), and he loves his daughter more than words can say, which brings so much joy to my heart.
I have a daughter who is the most beautiful little girl in the world, and the most precious gift to our family! It is SUCH a joy and delight to take care of her everyday, and to see her smile at me ALL the time, and even try to laugh! And yes...I even love her when she is screaming at me! :)

God is SO good, and I am SO thankful that THIS is the path he has thus far chosen for me. So when those silly doubts creep up, I just need to remember that "His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence." (2 Peter 1:3)

And this is Daddy making Linnea "laugh"...well she tries anyway.