Dwelling within limits

The past 12 months in one paragraph...
Teenagers, School, Marriage Ministry, Cooking, Kitchenaid Mixer, Graduate Studies In Health Promotion, Hubby Turns 40, I Win A Weight Loss Challenge At My Gym, New Smartphones, Job Promotion, Being Faithful In The Little Things, Coffees, New Friendships, Footy, Stepping Up, Going Deeper, Refining The Dream, Enjoying Life.


And I ask you, isn't that enough??
An inbuilt facet of my personality always drives me to strive for more. I have to say no to myself more times than I care to count, and if I wanted to be a dill, I would try out 20 different careers and serve on 6 different teams at church, just for a season in each! I love to try things out, obviously.
But more than anything, this season has been about learning to dwell within limits- I can't be everything, but I can be something.
So although I have fancies about opening a boutique patisserie or designing gorgeous weddings, I understand that I am here for a purpose bigger than my own desires, and I press on slowly towards the dream God has placed in my heart.

And "what is that dream?", I hear you ask. Well it's not yet clearly defined, but it's something to do with improving health in under-resourced communities. In January I started a graduate diploma in health promotion, and for my first major assignment I looked at tuberculosis prevention in East Timor (Timor L'este). East Timor is a little country next to Indonesia which became an independent nation in 2002 after many decades of neglect and unrest. The East Timorese now face a huge challenge in establishing a solid economy, health system and more, and the rebuilding work will likely go on for many decades. I don't know where I'm going to end up, but this is the kind of work I want to do: helping establish systems to improve health in needy communities.

For now though, I have a long road of studying ahead, with many opportunities to choose to press on, rather than taking the easy road. I'm doing one subject at a time, so at this rate I'll complete my course in 3 more years- when my youngest daughter Betty is starting her final year of high school. And so every day I must choose to keep on the path- studying and following God, enjoying other hobbies such as cooking and occasional event planning, but staying true to the course that God has put me on.
Wish me luck!