We just celebrated our third Thanksgiving in northern Michigan. It was perfect. We had good food with no major cooking disasters (I really don’t love cooking, tbh) and great conversation. The weather was also gorgeous. No snow yet, and the sun even peeked out a few times to counteract the chilly temperatures outside. We started pulling out the Christmas decorations and setting them up. Most of all, we had so much to be thankful for.

My specific item of thanks this year is that I have finished my first quarter of teaching! I have survived the first round of report cards, parent/teacher conferences, and holidays. I feel far from experienced, but it’s a start. I have had a lot of stress trying to teach engaging lessons, getting to know my students, and proctoring all the testing that schools do these days, but thanks to my principal and our school secretary, I have made it! I’m thankful that my principal took a chance and hired a rookie teacher.

Another huge blessing is that I was approved for enrollment in an alternative certification provider, #TEACH – Training Educators and Creating Hope. I began that journey in October. I have about 25 classes to complete online and then they will do observations of me as I teach. This replaces the student teaching aspect that a regular university would provide. I had planned to go the traditional route to get my certification, but then our family moved over a thousand miles away, and I really thought my dream of teaching was dead. I am so thankful that God has opened doors for me that I didn’t even know existed! Not only that, but I qualified for a grant which will pay the $5,000 fee for this program! Again, I am blown away!

I was scrolling through Instagram this morning and I saw a Thanksgiving post made by the governor of Arkansas, Sarah Huckabee Sanders. If you know me, or have ever read my blog before, you know I grew up in Arkansas. While I do not miss the heat or the tornado watches, I do miss my home. I was blessed with an amazing childhood made possible by my loving parents. My dad is in heaven and my mom still holds down the fort in central Arkansas. Mrs. Sanders’ post of her family tromping around the area in which I grew up caused a lump to form in my throat. I suddenly missed it all so very much. I know that home wasn’t, and still isn’t, perfect, but it’s familiar. The hardest part of moving, no matter where I move to, is that it’s new and unfamiliar. You have to start over, learning everything and everyone. But that’s not true at home. Even if some roads have been re-done, or businesses have re-located, you still feel as though you belong.

In my Bible reading today – minutes after eyeballing Instagram – I read Luke 9. Verses 61-62 jumped out at me:

“Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Ummm…ouch.

God knows my mind and He knows what I need! What a startling reminder He gave me today to stop looking backwards. Looking back is no way to thrive in the Christian life. Oh it’s easy to look back and miss, or regret, the things that have come before. I can easily miss the memories of the past and convince myself that life was better back there. I can also look back and regret my choices and actions as a daughter, wife, mother, friend, and now we can add “teacher” to that list. YES, I already have things I regret in my teaching career! I cannot go back home. I cannot go back and change my past mistakes. I can only learn from them and move forward. So, today I am choosing to look forward; to do my best to live today for the glory of God. I am trusting that He will continue to guide me with His counsel until He receives me into glory. (Psalm 73:24) I must remember that there is no place like home, and for the believer, this world isn’t it. My home is ultimately with the Lord.

With a thankful heart,