Faith, Family, and Flexibility: Navigating Flexible Job Opportunities for Christian Moms
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[00:00:00] Hey everyone. It's Katy today, we're talking about something that strikes a chord with many Christian moms around the world. Myself included. The struggle to balance a thriving career with the desire to spend more quality time with your family can be so challenging. So, is there a way to find that balance? Today, we've got some insights, personal stories and inspiration coming your way. That might help you get a better grasp on that faith, family and flexibility.
Hey friends, it's Katy, host of the Christian Career Mom podcast, founder of Covenant Collections, which is a company on a mission to empower parents to thrive in all things family and life, and author of soon to be released Christian children's book, Happy Are the People. Whether it's your first time listening or you've been here with us before, the Christian Career Mom exists for the working Christian mamas who desire to live purposely, grow spiritually, and create a [00:01:00] harmonious balance between their work, life, faith, and family.
We explore all the ways to tap into our God given wisdom and grace to find fulfillment in all areas of our lives. It's so important to have a supportive community to lean on, and that's exactly what we're here for. So grab a cup of coffee or your favorite drink, find a cozy spot to listen and let's dive in.
I know how valuable family and faith are to every single one of you. And today we have a really good question to answer. Are there flexible job opportunities for Christian moms who want more time with their families? It's a question that's been on the minds of probably all of us. So today I'm going to get really personal and share a few stories with you. As you may or may not know, I am a single mom of a four-year-old son. I'm also a healthcare director. I'm a [00:02:00] business owner and I'm working on my doctorate right now. So unsurprisingly, when in a recent women's Bible study at my church, when they asked us what was holding us back the most. My answer was, it feels like there's just not enough hours in the day. I know I could do all the things. I'm a doer. I just need more time. It's a really big challenge to be super driven. And super results motivated when you're also such a huge advocate for taking intentional time to connect and build a strong bond with your child. So on my never ending to do list. There are, of course the things that I have to do. There are the things that I want to do. And there are things that I know I'm not going to get to. It just makes me feel better. So write them down. So, no matter what, the time I spend. With my son is a top priority. [00:03:00] Actually started this business. Because I have a goal of going full time and being able to spend more time with him. Because my career is just.
He's he's yelling something at me right now. Hold on.
My career is just, I like what I do. And I've worked hard to get where I am. I took on all the things to like, prove I'm ready for this responsibility. Uh, climb the ladder. I've gotten the degrees. It's just, it's not like the closer I got to God recent in like recent years. The more, I feel. Pulled away from my career, I guess, like it's not for fulfilling me in the way that I always expected it to. And I started to realize that. Every achievement I've been like climbing towards relentlessly. Then once I get it, it never fulfills me the [00:04:00] way I expected it to. I just move on to expecting and working towards the next thing. And only having a few hours in the evenings when you also have to share with another parent, every other weekend is just, it's not fun. But when I started planning everything down to the detail and actually made the moves to get things started in my business. It was a time when he was crying every single day, begging me not to leave him at preschool. Then at night, he would ask me where he was going the next day. Like he already had worries and fears about leaving me. Uh, 12 hours beforehand. And he would tell me that he just wanted to be with me and that he wanted to stay with me forever. And honestly it completely broke my heart. And still, when I talk about it, I picture his big brown eyes welling up with tears, but trying to be strong while I walk [00:05:00] away. And that just. I know it's a necessity for some of us, but it still breaks a piece of you because you know, in your soul, that's not what you want either, but you're here and you have no other choice. So my heart is so with you, if you've experienced that, or if you are experiencing that. His school. Actually moved to a new building and for whatever reason, he's actually been okay. Since that change of scenery. I know a new environment can.
Change a lot. But he still tells me he'd rather be with me. He just isn't crying and dealing with anxiety every night about it now, which helps a lot, but it doesn't change the facts. The facts are. What some people think is their intuition. We know as believers that that's often our God given wisdom or even holy spirit guidance. And if our soul is strongly calling us towards or [00:06:00] away from something, we have the responsibility to pray on it. Turn to God about it and follow his guidance for what steps to take next. In my case that was starting a business on top of everything else with a one to two year goal of making the transition to full-time. Because not all kingdom plans are overnight plans. Very few of them are actually. And I already feel so much more in alignment, like at my career where I've spent the years building. I like what I do and I'm good at what I do, but I don't feel like that's what I was created to do. Like, what is my purpose in this world? What did God really create me for? And again that God given wisdom or holy spirit guidance was leading me to understand that my purpose was helping children. The thing that I could not shake. Was the [00:07:00] immense pain that I feel for children who deserve such better lives. And the empathy that I feel for parents who want so desperately to give their family the best version of themselves. But they're so confused and conflicted with the things the world pushes at us every single day. When something keeps on and keeps on being placed on your mind and on your heart. And it's something you want to do something about, but you're just at a loss of what to do. Let me encourage you now that, that thing. Deserves, your focus, your prayers and your commitment. That thing is your thing. That thing may be your purpose in this world, and God will keep leading you back towards that thing over and over until you listen. Your true thing might not be what you want or what you thought you wanted. Or what you've spent years thinking was the design for your future? [00:08:00] Like in my case, So just try to be open-minded. It also might require significant patients. You might be stuck in a season of waiting and you might not understand why. But God knows exactly why and our job in the meantime is just to trust and be faithful to his plan. Above our own.
I'm going to share another story with you so that I can give you a good example of this. A few years ago. Or actually let's see. It was more like nine years ago. So at this point, I guess a few more than a few years, but anyway, I was 20. And I was in a really. Rough relationship. That I'd been struggling in, off and on for four years. I was also in a job that I couldn't stand. And I just really wanted so much more for [00:09:00] my life. I didn't know what that looked like. Um, but this was one of the times in my life that it was so obvious to me how God's plan. It's so much bigger and so much better and so much more informed. Than our own ever could be. So this was October, 2015. And I had just changed to a new job in may. The job that I had left in may. Was one I had had for two years and I'd become so miserable in it. It was like one of those teams where there's drama and resentment and everyone just wants to get each other in trouble. I haven't seen anything like it since. But the director had basically gotten fed up and said she was tired of playing detective and dealing with drama. So from now on, she wasn't going to even ask any questions or figure out if something was true or not. If someone [00:10:00] told on you for something you were getting written up. And that completely terrified me because I'd been trying for months already. To transfer to a new position. And if I got written up, I wouldn't be eligible to transfer. So not only was I dreading the work I was doing and dreading the work environment I was in, but then I was also in constant anxiety because of fear of getting trapped in that position. I was having no luck at all transferring and I did have to stay with that company because they were helping pay for my college degree. I had put in a ton of applications within the company. And I'd had a couple of interviews. I had interviewed for a job I really wanted, it was only weekends and only night shifts. It was a full-time weekend. So every Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. And I think that it was 10 hour shifts. I didn't go to church [00:11:00] regularly at that time. And I didn't do anything exciting on the weekends either. So to me it sounded perfect except it wasn't. The interviewer literally told me that she wasn't comfortable hiring someone my age to work a weekend night shift job. Because I may not be reliable. If, you know, something fun comes up. I was discouraged. I was a little offended to be honest and a lot still in a constant state of stress. I had prayed to get that job and I didn't. I didn't understand. It would have been perfect for me. And I didn't understand why she was judging me. On paper. I mean, I know myself, I was working full time. I was going to college full time. Could she not see that I wasn't exactly the out partying every weekend type.
Now I feel like I have to say I'm not claiming to have been a Saint by any [00:12:00] means. I had just personally gotten all of my party and rebellion issues out of my system in high school. Not saying I recommend it. But by the time I was 20, it didn't even appeal to me anymore. I was ready to be a grownup and accomplish some stuff at that point. So basically I was disappointed. And defeated. And I was battling with the aftermath of an unanswered prayer. That seems like it was the absolute best thing for you. Because in your shortsighted vision, it might be. But what I didn't know, and God did know. Is that my life right then? Was not the same as the way my life would become in a few short months. That job would have worked for my childless free on the weekends. No reason not to sleep in all day after night shifts, self, but the soon to be future me would not have been able to continue in that position [00:13:00] or. Would have not been able to be there the way I needed to be when I'd get that phone call in October. Anyway, I kept trying not a super patiently. Not super gracefully. And starting to feel completely defeated and a little bit bitter. Because most of the opportunities I was being overlooked for, it seemed like it was just because I was young. I remember vowing at the time I was a healthcare management major. I vowed that I would never be that kind of manager. I would never judge somebody for their age. Because I knew that I'd be one of the hardest working. Reliable. Responsible employees they'd ever had, but they only knew. This girl is about to turn 21 and we probably can't count on her. Um, maybe it was that I was in college full time and I was commuting an hour back and forth to work every week. And I don't know. I don't know, maybe I sucked at interviewing. Maybe they just had more [00:14:00] qualified candidates. That's not really the point right now. When I did finally get a new position in may of 2015. I've been trying for at least six months. It was a Monday through Friday, eight 30 to four 30 position. And I didn't know yet how perfect that schedule would be for me and three months. When I had to take two kids. To before school daycare and then make it an hour to work. Then make it an hour back home after work to pick them up from afterschool daycare by 6:00 PM. But that worked out for us exactly how it needed to. And I realized then in neon flashing lights, how unanswered prayers are often blessings in disguise. If God had given me. The job that I prayed and begged and pleaded for. I wouldn't have been in the position to do what I was able to do and needed to be able to do three months later. [00:15:00] I still think of this every single time. I don't get what I want because I have such peace in that that no matter what it is, I just know that if I didn't get what I asked for or wanted it's because God knows more than I do. And I'm willing to wait for his plan because I know that his plan is based on his perfect wisdom that I will never have.
And I'd much rather have my life be guided by that than. Then whatever I happen to think is best for me at the time. Actually. That wasn't even the first way that God had his hands in that situation entirely. So I told you a little bit about the terrible relationship that I was in, but I actually lived with that person and his parents. And I'd finally broken up with him and made a plan to move into a friend's apartment an hour away. In the city where I worked and stay on her couch to save that hour [00:16:00] commute and get away from this guy. I did have family in town, but my grandparents, God loved them. Wouldn't let me move in with my dog. And I would not abandon my dog. Y'all I still have that sweet girl. And she's about to turn 11 in November. Anyway. The day I was supposed to move. I mean, literally the day. I was already packed up, ready to go. I woke up to a phone call that led to me taking in two children and raising them like they were my own for the next five years. The point of this is that at that time I was moving that day into a friend's apartment an hour away where I was going to be sleeping on a couch for a short time to be closer to my job, because I worked an hour away from where I lived and I was making like $11 an hour. I had nowhere else to go. I didn't have any kids. So that was a perfectly reasonable thing for a single childless 20 year old [00:17:00] getting out of a toxic relationship to do right. If I had gotten that call one day later. I wouldn't have been in a position to be there for those kids who mean the world to me. And I really don't know what would have happened if I wasn't. So there's two examples of his timing being far greater than my own. And his wisdom leading my life a completely different direction from my plans. Example one. I missed job opportunity after job opportunity after job opportunity. And couldn't understand why. I didn't realize God was holding out for a job that would fit the schedule that he knew I would need. Over the next few years. Example two. I had my bad relationship, escape plan and all my bags packed. Ready to go. When God said, wait a minute. Not so fast and did a major overhaul on my living situation plan as well. I was [00:18:00] able to still make a better, more strategic exit plan from that relationship after that day. The three of us moved into our own apartment three months later. I stayed in my hometown, where I had family for support and much more affordable childcare than the city that I worked in. So everything worked out pretty great. I worked full time. I went to school full time online. And I did homework after they went to sleep at night. I learned how to be a parent to two kids out of nowhere with no preparation. Learn how to co-parent. And learned a huge lesson at 20 years old. God's plan will always be bigger than my own. And his timing is all knowing mine is not. I never really pray for specific things anymore to this day. I pray for his guidance, his wisdom, his intervention, and his will to be done because mama, his will, will be done. And you can fight it and feel like life is just [00:19:00] constantly letting you down and throwing you a different direction from what you wanted, or you can trust and surrender fully to him leading the way. And just know that every single thing will work out the way it needs to. If you do that. We have to embrace a sense of flexibility, a sense of openness. A willingness to shift gears and adapt as needed. Which I think we're pretty amazing at naturally as moms, but it can still be really hard sometimes when we think. We know what's best. And with our limited knowledge and view of the situation. That is what's best, but if we're able to zoom out. And be open to the fact that God sees so much more than us. And just trust completely in his plan. It will change your life. I know that it's hard. I understand. So this episode is probably not the 20 best online jobs for Christian moms that [00:20:00] you expected or anything like that, because that would be truly so ineffective. Every single one of you is on a different path and the opportunity that's best for one of you may be terrible for another. This is a reminder that yes, there are opportunities that allow you to have more time with your family. But also yes. There may be a very raw and very real reason why you're exactly where you're at. And if it takes a little longer than you've been hoping for. Or maybe you're also in that season where the disappointed hurt little eyes watching you leave are ripping you to pieces. You're not alone. My heart aches for you. And I pray for you all and your families. I want to remind you to take your desires to God. Tell him what you're longing for and pay close attention to be ready. When he answers. Today. I'm going to ask you to share this episode with a friend. [00:21:00] Whether it's someone, you know, personally that it may speak to in this season of their lives. Or whether it's on your page, just with a note about what it meant to you. Just share this with someone else who may need to hear it. And to wrap up, I'd like to pray with you.
Dear God, I pray for the mom. Who's listening to this episode, feeling all the feelings she's been facing, the pain of questioning. If she's doing it wrong. If she's failing, if she's falling short, if she's giving her children enough time. Uh, enough of herself enough. Love. She's probably sat and actually calculated out the number of hours they have with someone else instead of herself. And really question if she's doing the right thing, as she heads off to work, God, I want to speak to that. Mom's heart. I want you to give her wisdom, guidance, and peace. For the mom who is exactly where she's meant to be the one who is needed in this career, for reasons [00:22:00] they may not know and reasons they may not be able to see yet. I want you to give her peace and give her the ability to give herself grace. Ask that you provide her moments of true connection with her children. That make it so clear to her. She's exactly who they need and they are. Getting the very best of her. There are so loved and they're so blessed and you gave them her for their mother for a very real, very special reason. She's beyond worthy. Help her forgive herself for the pressure and the doubt she's placed on herself. And God for the mom, who's feeling called to make a career change. I pray that you give her wisdom and guidance in that next opportunity. I pray that you make her path clear and give her the clarity. She needs to take that leap of faith into our next journey. And Lord, if she's facing doubt and feeling beaten down by a lack of opportunity. Or constant no's after no's when she's praying for a yes. I ask [00:23:00] that you fill her with peace and complete surrender to your will. The path may look different than she's planned, but I pray that you help her understand this is for a reason. She has a purpose and you will position her where she's needed at the right time. She just needs faith. And next God, I pray for the moms who are thinking of completely jumping ship into something new. This could be the moms who feel called to start a business of their own. Or the moms who feel led to stay at home. I ask that you reveal their paths to them in ways that are so clear. They have no doubt. In ways that fill them with confidence. That this is absolutely the path you've designed for them and it's okay to jump. You'll be with them and there'll be exactly where they're meant to be heavenly father. For everyone listening, I ask that you cover them in protection and fill them with love. I ask that you [00:24:00] help them see your will more clearly and also find comfort in the unknown. Because our paths are designed by the one true king. The one true God. The one who loves us in a way that we can't even fathom, despite the fact that we love very, very deeply ourselves. You've got this. We love you. We trust you and we give our lives to you. God, in Jesus name. Amen.
I hope you found this episode valuable, and I pray you're walking away with a new insight, perspective, or idea to implement as you move forward in your journey. Remember that while busy is an often unavoidable state of being, it is not a badge of honor, and it is not a measure of our worth. God gives us everything we will ever need to thrive in our careers, our personal lives, our families, and most importantly, our faith.
If you enjoy our podcast, please subscribe so you never miss an episode. And if you could please take the time to leave us a [00:25:00] review on your favorite listening platform, I would appreciate it so, so much as always reach out. If there's anything I can support you with, and I'll talk to you soon.
