Changes, Seasons, and Clouds of Glory
September is a perfect time for a post on change, because soon enough, the leaves will be falling off the trees here in Pennsylvania, and Fall will be upon us.
It couldn't come any sooner, in my opinion, because I'm obsessed with Fall and all things pumpkin spice.
(I had to put in a pumpkin spice meme!)
On a serious note though, life has changes and seasons too.
In January, Marc and I got married. I moved from the season of singleness into married life. I know we'll experience seasons within our marriage as time goes by, but for now, it's amazing.
This summer, I transitioned out of the field of education and embarked on a journey in entrepreneurship. My heart's desire has been to paint furniture for a living and teach the Bible. God faithfully lined up my circumstances to allow both of these to happen full-time. Eight Hundred Furniture, LLC. was made official and I stepped into a Bible teaching leadership role at my church.
In the world of automobiles, I traded in my beloved sedan (peeling paint and all) for a truck. The time had finally come for me and Marc to upgrade to a more hefty vehicle that could better support my furniture business (and keep his smelly hockey gear in the back). We couldn't keep relying on our parents to help us transport pieces that wouldn't fit in the sedan (which was just about everything).
God has been impressing changes and seasons on my heart. Seasons come and go and there's an appropriate time for everything. The Bible talks about it in Ecclesiastes 3:
"To everything there is a season
and a time to every purpose under the heaven...
He hath made everything beautiful in His time..."
(And you wonder where the Beatles got the idea for the song?)
Everything is made beautiful in God's timing.
Literally everything.
The changes have kept coming, and now I'm on the brink of another season in my life. Since June, I've been at Love Street Vintage in Downingtown working alongside Natasha Shea. She has generously poured out her knowledge and skills into my creative life. We have spent hours discussing politics, religion, food, music, marriage, good, evil, and the world in general over cans of Chalk Paint® and large iced coffees.
Seriously folks, if you have ANY questions about Chalk Paint®, need decorating advice, help picking colors, then Natasha is your girl. She's a wealth of knowledge and has a fantastic sense of style!
I have loved my season at Love Street, but God has tapped me on the shoulder and whispered that it's time to move on.
It's time to take the big leap of faith and make my mark on the world of furniture painting.
It's time to see if I have what it takes to make it completely on my own.
I've spent a good amount of time praying that the Lord would direct me where He wanted me to go. In Exodus, the Israelites would camp around the tabernacle and God's glory rested over it in the form of a cloud. Whenever the cloud moved, it was a sign to God's people that it was time to follow. They packed up and went with God. It was one step at a time. One destination at a time. One cloud-moving at a time.
I'm doing the same thing, really. Following the glorious cloud to my next step. Hopefully I'll be able to share details with you soon, but for now, I'll be walking by faith and trusting Him who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
