Tend to your Grass

The past few weeks have brought about many changes in our family. I was asked to do a long term sub job at Colbert Elementary for a new position while they took time to interview and hire. It is in a self contained special education setting, and let's just say, the experience has been wonderful. I wanted to test it out because my heart has always been in self-contained, and I have had moments of missing the profession and wondering if it was time to go back. This opportunity was the perfect way for me to see if I was ready. I strongly considered applying for the job. I wrestled with the decision through prayer, tears, and deep conversations. I spent a few weeks just listening to what others said. I placed a lot of trust in the wisdom of those who have more experience than me and I chewed long and hard on what they said. At the end of the day, I decided to continue my job of staying at home with my boy and new babe on the way and continuing with real estate. Life has a funny way of making you wonder what it's like to be doing something else, to be living a different life than the one you have been blessed with. I have been on both sides of the fence as a working mom and a stay at home, and with both positions, I've found myself thinking the grass my be greener somewhere else. I hear stay at home moms say all the time how burnt out they are and how they have so many days when they wish they were back at work. And I hear even more working moms say, "I would give anything to have the time you have to cook and clean your house and run errands" (even though us stay at home moms know this is a fantasy and not reality:). I even hear moms say, I wish I could be at home. I'd give anything to have that opportunity. The truth is, I am working and at home in a way with the real estate profession, and I do consider it a blessing to be able to have more time with my little than a lot of moms do, but there are challenges for everyone. What I am coming to understand with time is that the grass may always seem greener, but what we should spend more time on is tending to our own grass, wherever it may be. Stop looking at the other grass. Tend your own grass. Sure, the other grass is greener when you don't spend time and effort caring for your own. Our lives take care, consideration, and water from the eternal well. If we aren't nurturing our grass with Christ, we can surely count on our neighbor's grass being greener than ours. Marriages, parenting, how we treat our friends and family....all of that takes care and work. We must tend to those responsibilities with a cheerful, joyful heart and a forgiving spirit. If we leave our relationships and responsibilities thirsty, they will wither and die. We (I) must begin to take more time tending to my own grass. I feel so blessed to have a family, a roof over my head, and food on my table. Regardless of my profession, these are things we should be grateful for, and there are so many who would give anything to have our "problems." If we are at work, let us treat our responsibilities and co-workers with care. If we are at home, let us focus on loving our family with all other distractions aside. We must tend to our own grass. It is what we have been given. It is ours to love and nurture, and we must do it with the love of Christ.