I’m
back from a hiatus that felt like forever!
I had to take a break to finish up my Masters degree, and as of
yesterday evening I am DONE! I have been
missing my blog so much, and I have tons of things that I want to write about
this summer. I just can’t get back to the
regular program without taking time to thank God for carrying me through this
journey.
Some
of you may be asking yourselves why I’m so overjoyed about obtaining a degree
that has pretty much become commonplace these days. Well, let me start with the harsh truth: I
have been working on my Masters degree for four years. FOUR. LONG. YEARS. Academics have always been my area of
strength, but somewhere between my Bachelors and Masters degrees life started
to feel like a tornado, and my academics were no longer my top priority. During those four years, I got married and
had my first child. I changed schools
AND majors when I was nearing the end of a degree I was no longer interested
in. I taught full time - as many as 180
students every day! I lost my uncle, my
grandmother, a friend, and almost lost my marriage. I came to so many road blocks that as recent
as a few months ago, I was ready and willing to give up on my dream. I had decided that ordinary was good enough.
Despite
everything that I went through throughout this process, the absolute worst
thing that I experienced was a separation from my heavenly father. When I started my Masters degree, I had
started my first big-girl job and joined a new church. All of a sudden, I became a mother, wife, teacher,
AND grad student, and I put God on the back burner. At one point, I stopped going to church
completely and very rarely spent time in prayer. How and why I came back to Christ is a
completely separate post for another day, but thank God I eventually did!
It
was God who got me through the long nights and the guilt from neglecting my
family. Because he loves me so much, he
sent my loved ones to be an extension of his grace and mercy during this
time. My sisters and my mother became
Layla’s care-takers when I needed them to.
They combed her hair, fixed her dinner, and took her out for ice cream
when I just needed a moment to relax. My
father labored over the upkeep of my house like it was his 9-5 job. It wasn’t until I finally regained my peace
of mind that I appreciated just how hard they worked to help me get to the
finish line. I couldn’t ask for a better
family.
Of
course, I saved the best for last! My
husband has been my absolute saving grace during this process. He never issued a single complaint on the
nights that I came home from work only to work until the wee hours and collapse
into bed when he and Layla were fast asleep.
He had dinner ready when I came home, and he completely took over
laundry duty. He forced me to take naps
when I had time, and celebrated every-single small victory like it was his
own. When I said I wanted to quit, he
knew me and loved me enough to tell me that I was too strong to quit, that I
would regret it immensely. I’m not sure
what I have done to earn a man who loves me as hard as he does, but I sure do
thank God for him.
To
every friend that continued to encourage me even when I started my fourth year
of what should have been a two-year degree, I thank you SO much! I am so rich in love that at times it amazes
me.
What
I want to tell you all is that when God plants a dream in your spirit, he
absolutely means for you to accomplish it!
It may take longer than you anticipated, and even you may not understand
why. Satan will try to attack you and
steal your dream simply because he hates to see the will of God fulfilled through
his children. Ask God to help and guide
you at every turn. There is no request
too small for God. He loves you and he
lives to see you cross the finish line!
Food
for thought:
Phillipians
4:13 – I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me
Have
an issue or idea that you would like to see in a future blog? Email me at whitney.p.gordon@gmail.com! It’s confidential!
WOW! That was amazing and I'm very proud to call you my wife, its been an honor to watch you fulfill your dreams. Because seeing you juggle school, work and family was motivation to me, you showed me that nothing can stop you from fulfilling your dreams when you put your heart into it.
ReplyDelete