I am often asked how it is that I have the time to cook, bake, run regularly, and at the same time keep a job and manage a household with two kids.

Well, apart from not watching very much tv, I’ve been working either 3-day weeks or half days for the last three years. By and large, the job has virtually been stress-free, and I have actually been able to leave my work at the office. As a result, I’ve been able to challenge myself to keep fit, cook and bake, see our house reconstruction through, and most importantly, get to know my kids a lot better.

I’m thankful every day for this, as well as the changes in my life during the last three years.  But while this stint has been a blessing and a Godsend, it was never meant to be permanent.  I’m going to be moving on after next week.

It’s occurred to me that saying goodbye to the people I’ve worked with here won’t be the same as when I left my last job.  Exactly three years ago, I was getting ready to leave not only the practice of law, but a place at which I’d grown up professionally. It was an emotional experience for me, for quite apart from leaving behind what felt like home and people who were like family, I was starting a new chapter in my life.

In a journal entry dated 30 May 2009, I wrote:

“Letting go and leaving has been so difficult. When I first joined the firm, I was just starting my second year of practice, before husband and kids. So much has happened in my life since then. And I’ve seen so many people come and go, made so many good friends in the process … … Leaving has been like having to tear myself apart from someone I’m in love with because he’s no longer good or right for me.”

While it will not be as difficult this time around, I remain grateful for the privilege of serving among my colleagues, and for the insights I would not have gained otherwise.  The experience has been a very enriching one for me on a personal level. It has broadened my perspective.  It has been humbling and sobering to see how my work sometimes directly impacted individuals and their families.

Now I am looking forward to yet another new chapter, one which promises new challenges, yet with the comfort of familiarity and old friends.

On 25 March 2009, after I’d decided to leave my previous job and take on this current one, I wrote:

“A new chapter of my life will soon begin. I approach it with eager anticipation. I thank God for his faithfulness and goodness. I marvel at how He always takes care of me.”

Those are exactly my sentiments today. I marvel at God’s faithfulness despite my shortcomings and imperfections, and how He always provides.

Interesting how life often seems to come full circle.