Sometimes a second chance is a chance worth taking...

Today is Saturday, August 14th, 2010.  In two days I will be the mother of a 7th grader and a 4th grader.  HOW DID THIS HAPPEN!!??  In 17 days I will be a junior at Converse College!!  My life seems to be speeding by! 

I know it's corny, but as I sit here writing this blog, I am reminded of the Kenny Chesney song "Don't Blink."  I feel like if I blink I will miss so much!  This summer feels like it was just a day!  I was in class for 8 of the 10 weeks my children were out of school.  There were so many memories that could've been made during this time.  I have a bad habit (as do most moms) of feeling guilty and beating myself up for taking any time to focus on myself.  I want to show my children how to be a Godly responsible person who has a servants heart.  I want to be the role model they deserve.  I don't want them to look back on their childhood and think that I wasn't there for them.

But I can feel God whispering to me....He is telling me that this is His plan for my life.  The things I am doing now will not take away from my children's upbringing, but enrich it!!  I am showing them that you can attain success at any age as long as you do your best and put your mind to it.  Don't get me wrong, I pray that my children do not take the long, hard road to success that I chose.  I pray that they do well in school, get into a great college, graduate in 4 years, and maintain an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.  But I am proud of the fact that I am showing them that I never gave up. 

I am scheduled to graduate in May of 2012.  I was supposed to graduate in 1999.  I will be 35 years old, not 22.  Austin will be starting high school, Ali will start middle school!  I already feel sooo old as I sit in class but I thank God for this opportunity.

So, instead of being concerned about how old I am and how long it has taken me, I will choose to focus on the fact that I am DOING IT!!  This is my second chance! The time will pass whether I continue my journey or not, so......I may as well do all that I can to make my life the best that it can be!!  My children may not appreciate the next 4 semesters of me not being home as much, focusing more on my own homework instead of theirs, and having to rely on others to help pick them up from school.  But I pray that one day they will appreciate the things I have sacrificed for them and that they will understand the value of an education. I pray that they will know what an inspiration they were to the path I am choosing because 15 years ago I would never have chosen to be a Special Education teacher!! But most of all I hope and pray that they look up to me, are proud of me, and learn from me.  Learn about God, love, and choices.  I want them to make good choices, right choices, Godly choices.  It took me a while, but I am finally learning these life lessons.  Hopefully I can help others learn them a little quicker!!

So, thank God.  Thank God for your second chance.  I am so glad He is the God of second chances.  And third, and fourth, and fifth, and......you get the picture!