Seeds Planted: Rachel’s Story

As a young woman I had always planned to work. In fact, I had planned to work my way up the ladder to what I deemed success in the education field: superintendent of schools.

When I had my first child, my dreams changed drastically, but not until we purchased a big, new house for our growing family.

When my daughter was three months old, we moved into our new house and school was set to start in two weeks. As we settled in for our first night, I had a sudden gut-wrenching realization. I did not want to put my daughter in daycare. I knew that I wanted to be home with her. I knew that I wanted to be the one caring for her every day. I also knew that we had bought our house based on my income.

When I told my husband about my change of heart, it took him a minute because I had never expressed anything like this before. But we found a solution. It wasn't what my heart desired, but it did ease the pain of leaving my daughter. We decided to have someone keep her in our home. This was the best we could do, and it worked for several years. Of course my longing desire to be home with my kids never went away. My desire to move out of the classroom also persisted. I felt like I was half a mom and half a teacher. But God would not waste this time I spent in the classroom as a mom.

Every year, I learned more and more about the connections between classroom management and parenting. I observed my students and their behaviors, both good and bad. I analyzed and wondered, how can I achieve the desirable behaviors and avoid the undesirable ones in my own kids? I began to make connections between my students and my own children.

I realized that much of what I had learned as a teaching student could apply to my own parenting. As I met with parents, I gained more insight into student behavior and parent influence. I applied what I learned in my own home. I studied and gleaned from different parenting experts.

Then in 2014, I was finally able to quit my job and be home with my kids. While I wish I could have been home from the start, I know that I am a much more effective parent than I would have been had I not had those years in the classroom.

With the extra time on my hands, I found myself encouraging other moms when they struggled with behaviors or structure, or even just feeling overwhelmed. More and more moms began to come to me for advice and encouragement. I continued to study parenting, discipline and family relationship dynamics. Over the next few years, the seeds were planted for what would be Seeds of Impact.