Change. It’s the only thing that is constant.

When God closes a door He always opens a window.

The definition of insanity is to keep doing something over and over again expecting different results.

I hate platitudes. Yet these all apply.

I have told my friends in the crafts shows I do, that when God rescues me I will leave. And people would say “you can’t leave, you have a following, we can’t wait to see what you have”. Or “you enjoy this too much” or…and my fav…”your house must look just like this”…ha!

While it’s a beautiful house, boxes and merchandise every where doesn’t make for a peaceful home.

I started doing craft shows in the early 1980s. Our house has been basically a factory since then along with a drapery business. Then in 2004 I got into an antique store. But nothing like since 2011 when we moved back to San Diego, where one year we did 22 shows!

Oh sure we clean, and have parties (mostly so it’ll give us a reason to organize). But it’s an uphill battle during the spring and fall craft shows.

While they have always been hard work… this last fall they broke me. Bill went on a week long fishing trip during November. The busiest time of year as a crafter!

So I had to rely on family for help. And I couldn’t hang out with our booth due to ill health or a trip to see our daughter. I had just had it. And then I saw this quote.

And this verse came up in a little devotional:

“Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors.” Proverbs‬ ‭8:34‬ ‭ESV‬‬

And it pierced my heart as I was not living a disciplined life. I was squandering the life God gave me.

And as I struggled I felt as though God was asking me to give up part of myself. After all, I’ve been creating since I was in kindergarten. I was always known as the most artistic person in school. So how could God ask me to give up who I am. Oh…but wait…doesn’t He ask us to die to self….to become less so He can become more?

And as I research our Christian/Hebrew roots I’ve learned that the sabbath is most likely on Saturday. The Church had changed it to try and stop believers from being martyred. Knowing that, I could no longer purposefully break the 4th commandment. It has now become a day of rest…well that omitted all of our shows.

(Funny how we got rid of all our Sunday shows thinking Yahweh was removing us from working on the sabbath, but in fact preparing us to leave them all).

Well, then it was obvious Yahweh had thrown me a life preserver. A HUGE one. So I had better grab ahold as opportunities can have an expiration date. And I hope to be doing other things soon. And craft shows, while have been fun, aren’t going to be my legacy.

So to me…it’s obvious Yahweh was moving in my life. I have always known that these craft shows have been a stronghold. And so now…they’re gone.

Though I will miss my customers, and fellow crafters and and was an honor to have been apart of some beautiful shows. It has been refreshing to not have that looming feeling of dread that the shows are just around the corner.

So with everything in life, the tide is always gong out or going in. So it should be exciting to see what God will bring to me in His next tide!