Hello, and welcome to another installment of Life Transitions.
Meet Julie:
Julie is such a good person...she is almost perfect.
Julie has beautiful, ultra-long hair.
Julie is the healthiest eater I know…she even makes her own granola.
Julie runs in a really cute red skirt…and she looks fantastic in it.
Julie can play the piano and sing and run really, really fast.
Julie is an amazing wife and an amazing mom to her 5 children.
Julie’s priorities are right where they should be…probably where mine should be, too.
Julie is deeply spiritual.
Pretty sure Julie is about as close to perfect as anyone I know…Really!
Here are some of Julie’s thoughts on life transitions.
My life seems to be one big transition. I'll bet most people feel their lives are just one big transition.
I am in the middle of mothering kids. I am not in the baby stage of motherhood anymore. My youngest will be 8 in two months. My oldest is a freshman in high school. And there are three more kids in the middle. I love being a mother, but with it comes a menagerie of challenges and twisty- turns. I would like to go back and finish college and become a dietitian. I would like to learn how to paint with water colors. I would like to go to Europe. But, most of all, I would like to know that my children have firm testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I pray they will be firm in their faith, their goals, their convictions, their pursuits. I pray they will find joy and peace in knowing they are children of a Heavenly Father who loves and cherishes them more than I ever could. My efforts as a mom are ever in need of improvement and re-prioritizing. Some days feel like a monotonous routine with no end in sight. Other days feel like sunshine and peaceful smiles are everywhere and life can't get any better.
Being a woman is a huge challenge in and of itself. Pile on top of that the hormones, the media, the peer pressure, the "to do" lists, the heart-felt desires, the husbands, the children, the friends, the sisters, the families, the church callings, the determination to try and be better than you were yesterday! Yep, life is a transition.
The lyrics to Jenny Jordan Frogley's song, "In the Meantime" are a wonderful depiction of my current stage of life. I cry every time I listen to it. Life is good. It isn't really fair and it definitely isn't always yummy, but it's good.
In her heart she holds the dreams
That she's carried since the day she turned 13:
Of all that she would be when she was grown;
Of all that she would do when she was finally on her own.
She dreamed she'd fly
& she's still waiting for the chance to try.
In the mean time, she's a mother & a daughter & a wife,
Doing all she can to stay above the daily grind
& she wonders when she'll ever have more meaning in her life.
She doesn't know she's being molded & refined,
In the meantime.
Someday she'll go back to school,
when the carpools & the soccer games are through.
'Cause deep inside she's still the girl,
Who has always felt the fire to make a difference in the world.
She dreams she'll soar,
when she finally has the time to do more.
But, in the meantime, she's a sister & a teacher & a friend
& hours turn into days that turn to years that never end,
But she wonders when she'll ever really find herself again.
She's becoming one on whom God can depend,
In the mean time.
Heaven feels the joy of every victory in her life.
And Heaven hears her heart before she cries.
And somewhere in the middle of the triumphs & the trails,
She's becoming sanctified.
But, in the meantime, she's an answer & blessing & a gift
To every empty, aching heart that only she can lift.
Still she wonders if she'll ever get to see where heaven is—
If only she could see her mansion waiting there.
If only she could feel how much her Father really cares.
She would see how she's being perfectly prepared,
In the mean time.
Thank you, Julie. I love you.
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