Musings of a Mommy

My sharing with you today as a guest comes from my desire to serve God and seek His will in where and how He wants to use me at this new season in my life….

I begin in the past and with a word of warning; amazing that you can see the future with greater clarity after the vision of the past is brought into focus. Three years ago, before my husband retired from the USN, we had the privilege of being stationed in the same area for 9 years…yes, this is atypical of the Navy, but with many ships in the military hub of Norfolk, my husband was able to transfer duty stations without requiring our family to relocate…(yes, we realize how blessed we were). Due to our length, our family became very involved and attached to our local church. I began serving by facilitating bible study through the women’s ministry, then we answered God’s call to serve together as husband and wife with young couples and before we knew it, we were teaching two Sunday School classes, hosting individual Bible Studies in our home on separate nights of the week, attending weekly visitation to get new couples into our classes, hosting date nights or gatherings and filling our time serving the Lord. All in the midst of raising our 4 children ranging from age 6 to 15, expecting our fifth baby and preparing to transition from military to civilian life.

I tell you all of this not to brag, as I assure you I take no credit for the work God did through us at that time and there is no pride to be had in sacrificing your family on the altar of service to the Lord. You see, all of what we were doing were good things, great even, and many lives were changed, but more importantly changing under our very roof were the lives of our children and the face of our family.

When the time came for us to transition from military to civilian life, my husband and I prayed fervently that God would allow us to remain in Norfolk, a place and church that had become home to us…..and I especially didn’t understand why God would move us from everything familiar and all of the good being done, His kingdom being grown. As I said previously, until the past comes into focus, the future is unclear, and it wasn’t until we left Norfolk, left our church and ministry that I could truly see what had happened and was happening in my family. You see, I missed the first two precious years of my new babies life because I was too busy teaching other mommies to become mommies, I wasn’t there for the many changes that were occurring in my two adolescent children’s lives, I was always on the computer, replying to email or returning telephone calls, and my teenage daughter who desperately needed her mom had turned into a young woman without my input or influence.

Looking back, I realize that God gave me many opportunities to learn balance, but He (in His greater knowledge) knew that I would not have backed away….being so very type A, my only way out was to be taken away from the situation, and the ripping away that hurt so desperately at the time has now come to be so appreciated!

Please don’t get me wrong, I am not proposing that you cannot do both, serve in your local church and be a wife and mother, absolutely not, but what I am suggesting is when discerning God’s will in when, where and how He will use your gifts, talents and abilities, consider the following:

1. Assess where you are….
Evaluate your season of life... do you have little ones at home, are your children in school, are you new to a geographic area, is your husband taking on more responsibility at work, do you have time to devote to serving others out of the overflow?

Be realistic and honest in your assessment of your current situation, many opportunities will present themselves, but they might not be right for where you are at this season and time.

2. Accept where you are….
Just because we have evaluated where we are physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually doesn’t mean we have accepted it. I knew I was taking on too much, and there were many warning signs along the way, but I chose to ignore them rather than accept what God was showing me. My hearts desire was to serve God, I just didn’t realize He was asking me to serve somewhere other than I wanted to be…nor was I willing to accept it.

Each of our seasons is just that….just a season. A baby is only in diapers for a while, eventually they will sleep through the night and our energy will be restored. Then the time of preschool will come, and you will have a little free time to devote to others, but be careful. Before you know it, they are in school all day, and your days now fly by as you count the minutes for their return from the bus. Then, you will drive them to college for the first time and look back and say, where did that time go?

And finally…
3. Acquire around you….
Once you have evaluated where you are, what time commitment you can make, the type of ministry you feel a passion for, and what you feel you can handle with balance between work and home….then go to the leadership at your church and acquire what type of help they need in ministries that will fit your abilities, talents and gifts. I assure you, they will be thrilled to have you serve the Lord! Regardless of the limit, amount or significance you feel you may be offering. Most church leaders I have know have great respect for the person who knows her limits and loves the Lord enough to stay within them!


Thank you for allowing me to share some Musing from a Mommy with you. I am so thankful that God has allowed me this opportunity to minister to you, and I do hope that I have. May God use you in a mighty way…wherever you are!

Tracie is a wife to retired Navy husband and mom to five beautiful blessings from College to Kindergarten. She loves to serve the Lord in and out of her home and desires to be God's light of encouragement to whomever God places in her path.