Emily was a couple years behind me at Ouachita. I met her because she was good friends with a girl who grew up with us back home. But, our friendship grew even strong in the years that followed. Her dad moved to Arkadelphia and became pastor at Second Baptist Church where I attended. They were great friends to me in those early single years where I was learning to navigate life on my own and in my summer of cancer treatments. But, life always has a big layer of irony to it. Her dad came to Arkadelphia from DeQueen, where we live now. I remember not long after I moved down here and we were getting our home set up, I spotted Emily’s art business. I’ll be honest, I coveted some of her pieces for a long time! And, I finally asked Mr. McKinney about it and we bought one of her cotton pieces for our guest room. But last year, we had a new need for the art on those walls and I had her do a custom piece for us with the verse and theme we had chosen for little man’s room. I love it and I love that her art lives on the walls of our home, in the town she grew up in. I couldn’t help but think about the journey I’ve watched her life take over the last decade from a college student, to graduate, to wife, mom, artist and business owner. She is the real deal and I’m so glad to have her sweet spirit still in my life. And, I only look at new houses with the thought of what pieces of her art I could find a new wall for!
Meet Emily Haworth. The message she is sharing today was totally something I needed to hear. Each stage of life brings it’s own challenges and this is a good word for the one I’m in right now, too.
What have you OVERCOME? Moving to a new state for the first time in my life for my husband to take a new coaching position. I was 3 weeks away from my due date of our second daughter and knew a total of two people that I had met once or twice through my husband’s job. Everything was new. I had worked outside of the home for the past eight years as a secretary for an insurance agency, working for a tire distributor and in a law office and was about to start my own art business. It was a lot.- What was your TURNING POINT/PIVOT MOMENT? Making myself get out of my house and out of my little world. I didn’t know how to meet anyone!! It was so hard to figure out how to make friends outside of work, especially while carrying around a newborn and then 4 year old. I had to awkwardly go to MOPS groups by myself, ask people at the park if they wanted to meet up some other time and put myself out there to get involved in church. It took me a full year to really feel like I had the courage to literally ask people to be my friends. We are so consumed with easy friendships in college, that I think it’s hard to find something similar as adults, especially as a stay at home mama who is busy with a business and a husband who really can’t be around a ton because of his work schedule. It really clicked for me when I started investing myself. It’s so important to show up. A lot of times, we can expect everyone else to do the work in the friendship, but it is so pivotal to be that person to the people you meet as well. I started going to Bible studies, regularly attending an amazing church and started serving in our preschool area on Sundays. This brought so many opportunities for me to meet people at the exact stage of life. My husband is a college baseball coach and that means our schedules just look different than a lot of people because of all the busyness and places we need to be. But if you will just cling on to the things we have in common with each other, it can produce such deep friendship. I tell my husband all the time, that after just three years, it TRULY feels like home here. Making these friendships and investing in my community and relationships have also helped my business grow. It’s still definitely a small business, but it’s something I feel like I can build on as my kids grow. The Lord has blessed us so much more than we could ask or imagine through this move. I can honestly say this is the most content and secure I have ever felt in the place God has us right now. We aren’t rich, we don’t have it all together, but we know we are where we are supposed to be.
- 5-word life mantra: (Sorry it’s 7 🙂 ” I am who you say I am.” It’s part of a Hillsong lyric. I love music and listen to worship songs while I paint continuously. I have to remind myself on the daily that even when I don’t measure up, the Lord sees me differently. I am chosen and I’m enough, through Him.
- Quote you live by: “pick your battles.” – with your kids, with your husband and with your friends. I’m an enneagram 4 who can get super caught up in emotion, so I have to remind myself what’s truly important at the end of the day and let some things go.
- How to connect with me:
- Facebook: Signs and Wonders art
- Instagram: @ejhaworth or @signsandwondersart
- Etsy store: ejhaworth85 for Signs and Wonders art
What have you OVERCOME? Moving to a new state for the first time in my life for my husband to take a new coaching position. I was 3 weeks away from my due date of our second daughter and knew a total of two people that I had met once or twice through my husband’s job. Everything was new. I had worked outside of the home for the past eight years as a secretary for an insurance agency, working for a tire distributor and in a law office and was about to start my own art business. It was a lot.
