The Giles Frontier had a booth at the Gifts of Grace arts and crafts fair. It was an opportunity for success and teaching life skills to sell our repurposed feed sack totes, lip balm, jewelry, homeschool book and slingshots!
It can be a lot of work setting up a display, spending most of the day at your booth and
credit card on Grammy’s iPad. Yes, he is eight, but he is capable.
Across from our booth were two women, young moms who were selling
personalized items and monogramming. They were two spunky girls
with lots of pink, Jackie and Kellie! I knew they must have girls at home.
As the morning went on, we chatted off and on across the aisle.
They both decided I should open up a summer camp so they could send
their kids over to my house! I took it as a compliment.
By the end of the day, Jackie and Kellie had bought my book and were excited about
the summer they could plan with their kids using my guidebook and tools. I was very
honored at their praise of our lifestyle and home education. Yet, I wanted them to know
that they were just as awesome pursuing a passion and supporting their families too!
Before lunchtime another woman from a booth came over, she was intrigued by Crockett
and Cowboy’s selling skills. Bethanne was her name, and she is also a homeschool mom.
She hand paints inspirational messages and scripture on wood. As we began to talk,
we discovered that both our grandparents and great-grandparents were
from the SAME TINY town in Alabama, Opp! We both used to visit there in the
summers! This place is seriously in the middle of nowhere. Isn’t it amazing
how God works to bring people together? We immediately planned a
blueberry picking day for the following week.
Our booth was busy all day, we enjoyed meeting people, and the day
was an awesome experience for us all. However, I began to realize that God had more
in store for me than monetary gain. He brought some magnificent women, mothers,
home educators and gifted artists to me as new friends. He showed me that the time I pour
into my children can have an effect all around us. He offered strangers who spoke
of being inspired by my efforts and who inspired me in return.
You see, I discovered that my measure of success was not in money, although that is
greatly appreciated. God wanted me to realize that the path he has laid out for me is
on track. Pursuing my book, educating my children and exposing them to life, is sharing
inspiration, help, and hope for families that need encouragement.
I too need encouragement. It is a great honor and sometimes a burden to expose
our lives in hope of inspiring others. Is it all worth it? Today, God said yes, keep
going forward, sharing, loving and learning with other families.
Was our day a success?
We earned enough money to make it worth our time.
We met some great people who visited our booth.
I made new friends with inspiring women.
My boys learned immeasurable lessons.
Priceless!