The Little Things!

        Praise the Lord I survived my first and last Christmas being pregnant with quads!  My family was such a big help with multiple Christmas festivities held at my house that I ended up feeling better overall than I had prepared myself for!  The week before Christmas my 5 year old Campbell, came home from school with a 103 fever, later to find out he had the flu.  Praise the Lord again, that it was the respiratory flu and he only had the high fever the one day and then the remaining 5 days he just felt a little sluggish and had a cough.  I will take that over the stomach flu any day!!!  Christmas day, my 3 year old Jack got the croup!  Praise the Lord...again that we had an almost full prescription of Prednisone and were able to administer it right away!  His cough is much better; however, I do have to say a 3 year old on day 3 of steroids is a bit...much!  He is as emotional as a "pms"ing teen!  We made it through Christmas, had a wonderful time with family!  We were able to spend time with Matt's sister and her husband for the first time in over two years, we enjoy them and wish we were closer.

         My favorite part of this Holiday break, thus far, was Matt and I taking the boys to see the Marvel Universe Live show.  We did the whole shebang, $12 popcorn, $15 cotton candy, and they each got to pick a noisy light-up toy!  I spent more time watching their precious faces fill with glee than I did watching the show.  I hope to forever hide that memory in my heart and hope my boys do the same.  I became very aware of how rare days like that will become once the quads arrive.  As we ate dinner afterwords, I looked at Matt and said "do you realize we will never be able to sit in a booth again with all our children!" to which he responded "do you realize we won't be going out to eat...period!"  The little things we take for granted, going out to eat, sitting in a booth, all being able to fit in a normal sized car!!!!  Life as we know it is changing, thankfully, I have learned to embrace change, be it big or small.  In my company I have seen most my staff resist change(at some time or another), because it often leads to some unknown, and unknown leads to fear, and no one wants to run towards fear!  When we face a fear our natural reaction is to want recognition for doing so, whether we succeed or fail, we crave a high five or a "good try" pat on the back.  A few months back, I read a quote from V. Raymond Edman that has made an impression on me:

                                         "Father, where shall I work today?"
                                          And my love flowed warm and free.
                                          Then He pointed me out a tiny spot,
                                          And said, "Tend that for me."

                                          I answered quickly, "Oh, no, not that.
                                          Why, no one would ever see,
                                          No matter how well my work was done.
                                          Not that little place for me!"
                 
                                          And the word He spoke, it was not stern,
                                          He answered me tenderly,
                                          "Ah, little one, search that heart of thine;
                                          Art thou working for them or me?

                                          Nazareth was little place,
                                          And so was Galilee."

    When I found out I was pregnant with quadruplets, I had many a panic attacks.  I own a company, I was called to this position of leadership to grow and develop stylist, add value to their lives, and above all else, show them the love of Jesus Christ in an industry that is based on vanity!  It was my mission, it wasn't in a foreign country, it was in my own town, and believe you me, it lacked the light!  I humbly admit that God has worked more in me, in this process(of poking holes in the darkness) than I ever imagined possible.  Seeing little specs of light turn on in one of my team mates, even for a brief moment, has been immensely rewarding!  So again, when I learned of this unique pregnancy, I was confused.  There I was, "working for Him," in a public fashion for all to see, and now I would be having to step away?  I felt so lost, was this ever my "calling?" the salon was growing exponentially, surely He wasn't finished yet? how would I step back when this was my passion? but I prayed for a baby, and He had given me four! I didn't understand what I was supposed to do, how would this all work out?  I knew He had a plan, I just didn't know what it was!  When I read Mr. Edman's quote, God spoke tenderly to my heart and said "trust me! lean not on your understanding."  He was not removing me from my company, he was transforming my new role and that of others in my company.  I realized I can only take someone so far, I would have to relinquish "control" to Him so that He could guide her to reach her full potential.  I may have poked a hole in the darkness, but He was going to burst through it, as only He could!

     So even though I still have fears, and moments of panic, I am truly excited to tend whatever place He has for me!