Isn't it funny how we grow and change throughout our lives? Just when we get comfortable in a routine, it seems that circumstances conspire to force us out of that place into something new. At the time, change can be daunting, perhaps terrifying. However, I have found that in looking back we often see a divine string leading us into new territory--- territory that is rewarding and that quickly becomes "familiar."
When I was in my 20's and 30's, teaching was my passion. I taught high school students about history, English, and geography. I loved going to work. I loved them. Sixteen years later, I had lost my passion for teaching. I continued to go to work, but I didn't love it anymore. My identity was so caught up in being a teacher, that I couldn't imagine myself being or doing anything else. I spent an entire school year being miserable and questioning where God was leading me. It was terrifying!
Finally, because I felt like I had no choice, I quit my teaching job. I had no firm plan for the future, but I took that step. Each step that I took led me further into the world of quilting.
I began by making samples and working in my mom's quilt shop. The more time I spent there, the more I enjoyed it. The atmosphere was wonderful, and the people I met were so much fun. I met a machine quilter, and admired her work, secretly wishing that I could afford to buy a machine to finish all of the samples that I had made! Eventually, with encouragement from my husband, I bought that machine. In order to find a new career path, and to help pay for my machine, I decided to start a business. Lone Tree Designs was born! Again---terrifying!
Three years later, I love my work. Each day, whether I go to work at the quilt shop or fire up the longarm, I love what I am doing. I pursue my work with renewed energy and passion. I look forward to the new quilts that customers send my way, and I "listen" to those quilts when they tell me how they want to be quilted.
I still have a passion for teaching, but instead of World War II or the finer points of grammar instruction, I teach women how to sew an accurate quarter inch seam. I show them how to use exciting and innovative new tools to make heirlooms that will be around after they are gone. If I am lucky, they trust me to put the finishing artwork on their masterpieces before they give them away to those who are very fortunate to receive them.
