I never in a million years thought I’d own a business. This wasn’t my lifelong dream…I was too practical for that. I dreamt of running my own business, sure! But it was only ever that – a daydream. My real-life dream was to become a PT, work part-time, and be a mom.
Before I even went to grad school, I talked to other female PTs who worked part-time – asked them the ins and out’s of their job and work/family balance. I actually never imagined myself working full-time. I always wanted to be home with my kids, and I wanted to find a profession that would allow me to do just that. It might seem weird to go into a professional career with aspirations of also staying home a couple of days a week, but my dream was to have the best of both worlds…and I did. Money was tight…sure, but it was all worth it. The sacrifice of benefits and a bigger paycheck were worth it to me so that I could do what I loved while getting to be home a couple of days with my kids as well.
And then God called me to stay home full-time. Wait…that was NEVER a part of my dream. I had slowly cut back in hours and days over the years, but NEVER with the intent of fully quitting. I had it all planned out. I’d slowly add in some hours as kids got in school…never building up to full time because I knew I’d want a day to catch up around the house – weekends and evenings would be filled with kids’ activities after all.
But God said differently. As my husband took over a business and managing the family farm, I was drowning in all aspects of life…forgetting commitments, feeling completely stressed. And He said it was time to give up my dream for my husband and family, not knowing whether He would ever restore it, but trusting that His way was truly the best, even if it meant complete sacrifice and surrender.
And so I did. And though I missed it dearly…it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. God wrecked me during that time. I wrote a 3 part series on how Refine PT came to be – you can find that here(Pt. 1), here(Pt. 2), and here(Pt. 3) if you’d like to catch the full God-story. But I want to share with you over the next few days how God has led me to do business His way.
This is not an “all Christians should do what I do.” It’s also not an… “all moms should do what I do.” This is ONLY what God has led ME to do, and I pray that as you read it, you’ll ask Him, “Lord, what are you asking of me?” We are all called to different things – and we all have different families, capacities, and places our energy is supposed to go.
I believe in two things: God AND family should come before our business and work. These are priorities that are aligned biblically with the Word, but this is going to look different in your life than mine. I’d just ask that you pray and ask Him how He wants to work that out in your life. This is how He’s currently led me to work it out in mine, and if you are a business owner or are considering starting a business, I hope these thoughts might be helpful to you, too.
Check back for part 2 where I share some specific ways I’m following His call in this season of life.
