God-Given Gumption®

Memories and Milestones

A young girl in a kindergarten graduation gown stands confidently at a microphone during a ceremony, displaying a mix of excitement and pride. — Charlotte (Lola) speaking at her kindergarten graduation-2025

The end of the school year used to be something I counted down to. As a teacher it meant free time and rest. Now as a teacher with children of my own, it is quite a bit more emotional. Every end of year event the girls have to celebrate how far they have come over the course of the past year carries the weight of one more thing I have to do alone. The recitals, class awards, etc… can be a lot for any parent and for the solo parent, it’s one more thing splitting your time, again, and a reminder that the responsibility of everything falls on you. It’s a time of year when the calendar and society say to pack it all in and move fast, but my spirit is telling me to slow down.

This spring my youngest graduated kindergarten and it hit me particularly hard. I’m sure it’s an emotional milestone for every parent because it marks the end of a season and the beginning of the real elementary years. For me, it was one more celebration my daughter had without her dad. She was too young when Taylor died to even have memories of what it’s like to celebrate with both parents. I was looking through old photos about a week before and came across pictures from Charlotte’s third birthday. She had never had a real party before and I was determined to make the celebration happen. The pictures were candid shots someone took of just the two of us, singing in the kitchen before cake. All I could think was that she and I have been doing these celebrations and milestones alone almost her whole life. Then I looked closer at the pictures and saw that she was happy.

A woman and a young girl stand together outdoors, smiling. The woman wears a blue dress with embroidery and the girl is dressed in a pink dress adorned with colorful butterflies. They are surrounded by green foliage. — Charlotte’s (Lola) Kindergarten Graduation

A young girl wearing a purple graduation gown and cap, smiling while holding a diploma in her hands. — Charlotte’s (Lola) Kindergarten Graduation

It’s hard to look back at old birthday photos or close the chapter on kindergarten because it means those early years over and I feel like I missed so much of it while I was busy just trying to simply survive. Looking at the photos and talking with Margot and Charlotte about their memories, I can see that my girls aren’t aware of how emotional it can be for me sometimes to show up for them. On the days when I’ve felt like I can’t keep showing up alone, God always gives me the strength to fulfill the role I’ve been called to in this season. God promises to equip us with all the tools and support we need to fulfill His calling. As hard as it is sometimes to carve the time and show up with a smile on my face, nothing beats the faces of my children when they spot me in the crowd at every celebration to support them. It’s the look that assures me I am right where I am supposed to be.

“Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

Hebrews 13:20-21

While we still have lots of tears in our house and my children see the world in a way that is beyond their years, I know that it is the world God prepared them for. I know it is a world where God knew everything they would face before He even knit them together in my womb, and they are thriving. The greatest blessing in my life is that my children know and love the Lord. They can trust that every adversity or broken heart they face, He has already gone ahead and prepared a way for them and will walk them through.

The end of this school year has reminded me to slow down and take it all in, while not being afraid of moving forward. Parents of young children often hear the advice, “the days are long, but the years are short.” It refers to the day to day difficulties of parenthood, but reminds us that babies don’t keep and children grow up whether we are ready for them to or not. I think as adults, we forget that we also grow up in God’s divine timing whether or not we desire to. The years will come and pass despite how we are spending our time. We can worry about each challenge we face on those long days or choose to not be anxious about anything. We know that tomorrow will worry about itself so all we need to do is focus on the gift of the moment at hand. If we can trust that God will equip us with the tools to face every challenge He has allowed to come before us or ministry He has called us to, we know that we will be able to look at our lives 5, 10, 50 years down the road and know that we didn’t waste any of our days. When you have faith in God’s provision, it’s impossible to let fear keep you from missing out on the joys of each day.

Love, Molly

Fruit of the Spirit

A close-up of a ladybug perched on a clear, glistening surface, surrounded by a blurred green background.

The month of May just might be the busiest time of the year. It seems like every night is filled with an end of year event and plenty of mandatory appearances to be made. While most of these events are fun social outings to look forward to, unlike the month of December, which is equally busy, May doesn’t encourage the same focus on family time and rest in a season when we need it the most. We are only halfway through the month and I. Am. Tired. Trials and heartbreaks of the spring have my anxiety spinning lately and yet, even when we are anxious and busier than ever, God calls us to be still. It feels as if stillness is what the Lord has been asking of me for the last few years. Probably, because I struggled to fully hear Him the first few times around.

While I sit wrestling with uncertainties, the same verse continues to be placed on my heart. Deuteronomy 31:8 says, “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” When Joshua led the Israelites on the final leg of their journey into the Promised Land, God knew just how hard the task was that He was asking of His servant and I can’t imagine the unknown Joshua wrestled with. However, God knew the glory of the Promised Land waiting for Joshua and assured him that He would carve out the path before him. All Joshua needed to do was obey.

If the Israelites had been too afraid to leave Egypt or Joshua too cowardly to trust that God would equip him with all of the strength and wisdom he would need during his crucible, they never would have received all the gifts God was preparing for them. God allows us to walk through trials so that we can be refined and transformed through the process, growing in faith as we rely on Him to lead us through. Sometimes when our human fears and anxieties leave us feeling too uncomfortable, we have to stop and give thanks that we have help clinging to God’s will for us through the Holy Spirit. God blessed believers with a Spirit to guide us on our earthly walks and talk to us through scripture and God’s character. As I have been praying for peace during a time of chaos and for my anxiety to settle, in the times that I am still with the Lord, I have been led to examine the fruit of the spirit.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

Galatians 5:22-23

I continue to ruminate on that word, “forbearance.” God calls His children once again to be patient, to be lenient. God has certainly been patient with me, tolerating my misdirections while He waits for me to surrender to His will. Forbearance requires us to have self-control and tolerance with the waiting God has called us to in certain seasons. Forbearance requires us to be patient in the middle of the storm without complaint or frustration. To be thankful He has placed us in a holding pattern while he goes before to prepare a safe landing. When we remember that God is in control, we can be patient with our situations knowing we are exactly where we are meant to be and God is always working for our good, even when it doesn’t feel like it. Especially when it doesn’t feel like it. It is often when we are unsettled that we grow stronger in our faith. When we practice forbearance, we can show Christian love to others, but also gentleness and kindness with ourselves having the self-control to let the Spirit lead us where God calls us.

When God asks us to be patient in waiting on whatever door we are hoping to open, it is often His way of telling us to slow down right where we are. To focus on the room he currently has us in. What work do we need to be doing right now for His glory and what work is He doing in us before answering our prayers? God produces some of his greatest blessings during trials and because He always wants what is best for us, the Holy Spirit instills us with forbearance. When we can find peace in patience through our faithfulness, we are also able to be filled with love, joy and kindness. When we can lean in to the Spirit’s character of forbearance and just be still in the unknown, we can prepare ourselves to accept the promised land God is preparing for us.

Love, Molly

An Encouragement For Teachers

Two children walking down an airport jet bridge, one wearing a pink cap and a backpack, and the other dressed in a green outfit holding an umbrella.

This has been a difficult year of motherhood for me. I’ve found myself in uncharted waters more often than I am comfortable, shepherding my girls through new phases and stages. We are also busier than ever with work, activities, appointments and travel times often overlapping and leaving us running late to everything. It seems that one kid is always melting down about something or using the moments when we are rushing to get somewhere to stop and block the doorway so they can give me a manifesto about whatever injustice my parenting has caused them to suffer this time. I constantly find myself biting my tongue in frustration as I think, “Are you *bleeping* kidding me with this right now??“

One of the hardest parts of parenting/caregiving, whether alone or with a partner, is helplessly watching your time continue to stretch thinner and thinner. I often get the unsolicited advice to “be sure to take care of yourself first.” I want to scream back at these people, “When?!” I already shave enough hours from my already limited time and lack of sleep just to keep the ship afloat.

This has been a season of survival mode for me and I’ve had to live in the discomfort of completing everything at the last minute, focusing only on tackling the tasks that require my immediate attention and still falling behind schedule. As we are all overbooked, sleep deprived, and looking forward to the end of the school year, I wanted to share an encouragement with everyone that time spent with the Lord is never wasted. I’ve noticed in my own life that when I am my busiest or expected to be in multiple places at the same time, it is whenever I pause in prayer or to ruminate on scripture that I can be miraculously productive.

“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:8-9

God tells Joshua in the scriptures to meditate on His word day and night. We are still called to engage with God’s word on a daily basis-not so that we can be loaded down with one more thing on our to do lists, but so that we can be prosperous and successful. God tells us to meditate on His word for our own benefit. As teachers, we are in the midst of preparing our last few weeks of lesson plans with award ceremonies, field days, and all kinds of special programs thrown into the chaos. We are busy working to be sure we covered everything on the curriculum, prep our students for final exams and complete the never ending list of end of year requirements. Our time is limited, but I want to encourage everyone to not forget the importance of slowing down and spending time with the Lord in our personal lives and in our classrooms.

We only have a few weeks left with the students that we have spent an entire school year cultivating relationships with. While we might all be counting down the days until summer vacation, this is the time when they are really listening to us. Some of our kids have taken this long to come out of their shells and just now feel comfortable opening up and asking the important questions. Now is when we have their attention and need to finish strong. Keeping our focus on God during the busyness is a guarantee that, not only will we get everything done, but we will do so successfully, bringing our students to the finish line with us.

Love, Molly