Joy Unspeakable and Full of Glory......

Besides being a work at home, homeschooling, kid loving, peace loving, artsy fartsy mom to the Four Princesses, I am a twirler.  You read correctly.  This thirtysomething, fat girl has twirled baton since she was in grade school.  Baton twirling carried me through my most awkward years, and I would like to think that I have helped some tweens and teens who have taken twirling lessons from me in the same way that my own teacher helped me, so many years ago.

When we first moved to this town, about three years ago, our new home was broken into and among the items stolen was my baton case, with all of my batons, and all of the batons that belonged to the Four Princesses.   We had nothing left for performing, I had nothing to use to teach a lesson, and the batons that had been with me through football games, contests, and grueling practice.................were gone.  Batons aren't money or precious jewels, but these were precious to me.

I got on facebook, and sent a long PM to my former twirling teacher and very dear friend.  Hot tears streamed down my face the whole time that I wrote and told her about what had happened.  Maybe I'm a drama queen.  I don't mean to be, but I was having to turn down requests for lessons, the Princesses were missing out on parades, and I was just hurting all the way to my soul.  We aren't to be attached to our earthly possessions, but some things are harder to let go than others.

That was a test or a cleansing of some sort.   How much was I willing to let go, to gain more than I had before?    Did God really think that my batons, my profession, my identity with myself was unimportant?  I never questioned this, but I can see how things have unfolded since that horrible incident.  Fast forward nearly three years, and we have more of everything, including batons.  Everything that held me back from my dream of having my own company involving baton twirling has been cleared.  Everything that we needed and could not afford has come to us in multiples, and often from some unlikely sources.  There have been so many days recently where I have been so happy that I felt like I might just pass out from the excitement.  I have been a very happy mama, but never did I know that these wonderful emotions even existed.  WOW!!!

Thanks to God and all of the good friends and family that he keeps sending to help.  No matter how much I say or how much I write, my feelings might not make any sense to anybody but myself, but I hope that all of you get to experience this same joy at some point in your life. 

With much love,
Laurel