Believe

I've been struggling with feeling discouraged for a while now. It's hard to move to a new place for your spouse's job advancement knowing that you will have to start over from scratch with your own career. I've chosen to substitute teach and have really learned a lot and grown. I've also found a wonderful place where I can throw pottery regularly.

Neither of those things have been as consistent as what I once had. I miss regular feedback, encouragement and meaningful contact with people. I constantly feel like I don't fit in anywhere and that I'll always be the "new" one. I know that this is just a season in my life and I'm sure it's for a reason. I've been given the gift of time & the ability to rest and recover from the two surgeries I've had this year.

It's still definitely been a struggle. I know that my value is not in a career. I know that feedback I receive from others doesn't really matter. My constant prayer has been for strength to keep my eyes fixed on where they need to be and to believe that I am valued not because of what I do but because I'm a daughter of the King.

I was particularly discouraged one day after leaving the pottery studio. Someone decided to negatively criticize a project I've been working on. I've been longing for any type of positive feedback and what I got really hurt.  I began to question myself and wonder if I've been wasting my time. I walked to my car down the same street that I always walk down and when I looked up I saw this.

I was so surprised. How could I never have seen this before? When was this sign placed there? Had it always been there? Was I seeing things? I snapped a picture with my phone. It was just the reminder that I needed at that moment. My God never ceases to amaze me! I'm so thankful for the encouragement that I received that day.

I edited the image with Instagram, an app I have on my iPhone. Do you know about Instagram? It's still pretty new to me. I've been having a lot of fun with it. My user name is creatingthroughlife if you click here you can see the pictures I've added so far. Let me know if you're on Instagram so I can follow you!