This might be the hardest post I’ve ever had to write. For the past five years this little space on the internet has been home as I grew up in my mothering. I’ve loved hosting other women and their stories, meeting you, our faithful readers, and creating a community where grace outweighed preference and guilt. If there’s one thing I’ve learned through the amazing group of women I’ve had the privilege of doing life with online for half a decade it’s this. . .
For everything there is a season.
For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace. What do people really get for all their hard work? I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 NLT
Last year I did this incredible thing. I successfully planted tomatoes and harvested so many of those yummy fruit I had enough to feed my family all summer and more to share with friends and neighbors. It may not seem like much of a victory but for this girl with a black thumb, it was a triumph.
I learned so much about planting and tending through my one pot crop. I was intimidated by even the small starter plant. It was tiny and fragile. I took care of that fruitless vine faithfully until it was ready to be replanted, moved to the home in which it would have room to grow and flourish. Each step of the process was so important to the next. Yet, even once the fruit came in bountiful portions, there was more cultivating to be done.
And so it is with this little ministry Kristy and I started five years ago this Mother’s Day. God has been asking me to cultivate my purpose in writing. He’s prompted me to try new things and through planting seeds here and there a passion bloomed in my heart. This summer my kids will turn 9 and 6, and as I’ve begun the process of discipleship in their lives, I’ve discovered a deep desire to carry on the faith legacy of their grandparents. And I’ve realized I have a fire deep inside me to help other families do the same. You may have seen it here as I’ve tinkered with family Bible studies for the past few years. You probably guessed this transition was coming when I launched Gather & Grow at the beginning of the year.
Honestly, I didn’t know the creation of that new community would mean the season for this one was coming to a close. The Lord only revealed it to me a few weeks ago and confirmed his prompt through many conversations with friends and mentors.
For everything there is a season. . .yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time.
Yes, he has made everything beautiful for its own time. This community has made a beautiful mark on the world, encouraging women to embrace the grace God so freely offers us. It’s helped moms (most of all me) remember to lean into the Holy Spirit to discover God’s plan for their family; to trust his Word and his leading for every decision, both big and small.
It is with a mixture of sadness and anticipation that I announce that the Grace for Moms blog will be closing in the next month. I will share a few more times in this space during the transition but then we will move all of your favorite posts over to Gather & Grow where I hope you’ll join us for encouragement and support for your whole family. We’ve got some exciting things coming and I would love for you to be a part of the community there.
I don’t know if I’d consider this a pruning as much as a replanting of what we started here. We’ve grown together in our motherhood and my hope is we’ll continue to cultivate our family life together in a new space, focused on growing in Jesus.
And from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace. John 1:16 ESV
Our Grace for Moms Bible verse carries so much meaning as we make this transition. I’m learning to apply his grace not only to my own growth but to that of my family as well. The grace we’ve carried for ourselves in motherhood can be used to tend to the lives of our family as we bloom together in the fullness of God.
Thank you friends for being faithful to support each other through this community. I hope you’ll join us over at Gather & Grow for continued support, inspiration and lots of free tools to help your family gather together and grow in faith.
It has been my honor to serve you at Grace for Moms.
With so much love and gratitude,
If you are already on our email list, you won’t miss a thing as we transition. If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can sign up below so you can grab our free tools and stay up to date with all of the exciting things we have coming at Gather & Grow!
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