What if?

What if…..

Those of you who know me, know that I am not much of a blogger, however since the last year of my life has been such a whirlwind some things have been weighing heavily on my heart. I have titled this blog what if, because as my husband and best friends know it is my favorite game in the world. Since my husband met me 17 yrs ago, I have battered him with what if scenarios, the more bizarre the better.

So I decided to talk about the last year of our life. September 2009, my husband had just been laid off from his job. I had been out of work for about a year. We had decided that it was time for me to focus on finishing school and not work anymore. Working a full time job, going to school and raising three daughters was starting to take it’s toll. But we never thought Derek would be out of work too.

All of a sudden we were in a situation that we had not prepared for. Both of us out of work, 2 mortgages, 2 car payments, and credit cards and unemployment was not going to cut it. We really didn’t know what we were going to do. Little did we know, God had a plan for us.

Later that month a childhood friend made a post about an opportunity she had. I responded and a few days later both my husband and I were sitting at her and her husband’s kitchen table listening to what their life had been like the past 7 yrs. My husband and I found ourselves asking, “what if.”

We decided to jump in. For the first couple months we were not overly active in our opportunity, but we made enough extra money to make ends meet. The real positive was it gave us time to be together and to be home with our kids. It also gave me an opportunity to see my dad a lot more since he had moved back from Kentucky a year earlier, and opportunity I would not have had if I had been working and going to school full time.

At this time in my life, it wasn’t about the money. I thought it was but really it was about time. Just two months after we became involved, I received a call from my stepmom on November 13^th, that my dad was rushed to the hospital by ambulance.  You see my dad had been fighting cancer for almost 9 yrs then. I wasn’t overly concerned at that moment because I had just spoken with him 10 hours earlier and spent the day with him the day before that. He was doing great, full of energy and feeling good. But I rushed to the hospital anyways.

Later that day, sitting in the ICU with my brother, sister and stepmom the doctor told us how bad things really were. The next two days were filled with uncertainty and on Sunday, November 15^th, my dad took his last breath. I can’t even begin to explain the sadness that I felt during this time.

Now looking back I believe God was preparing me for these things. I believe bringing my dad back to Washington the year earlier, me getting laid off and even putting this opportunity to make extra income in front of me were all part of his plans. You see if my dad was still living in Kentucky I wouldn’t have gotten to be with him as much as I was the last year. If I was still working I wouldn’t have been able to be with him like I was. My boss wouldn’t have let me drop everything over and over to be at the hospital and I would not have been able to take off 3 months of work afterwards like I did.

So my question to you is what if? What if you lost your job? What if you got sick and couldn’t work or your spouse did? What if you lost someone close to you? What if you stopped doing something you hated and followed your dreams again? What if you had the opportunity to stay home with your family? What if you didn’t have a boss? You could go on vacation anytime you wanted without asking anyone? What if every day when your kids came home, you had the opportunity to be there, not wondering what they were doing? What if?

In the past year I have seen so much tragedy, things that none of us ever wants to think about. I have watched a friend lose their child, a friend lose a brother, and I lost my dad. I have seen countless people lose their jobs, their homes, even their security. None of us are immune to the what if.

I have also discovered new friends, new hope and new security. I have witnessed amazing things happen when people believe that amazing things can happen and become prepared for the what ifs. I have seen my relationship with not only my husband but my children grow. We have the opportunity to witness them grow and be there for everything. We get to coach and encourage them in life.

Life is what you make of it. We continue to grow as a family every day. My challenge to you is to take a look at your life and ask yourself what if. Do you have a back up plan? What would you do if something life changing happened to you? Why wait until later? Why not do something now?

The opportunity that we have may not be for you, but what if it is?