So, I suppose an introduction is necessary. Many who find themselves reading this will already know who I am but may not know all the pieces of what makes me, me. Part of why this is true is that I have been in different situations and places where I have needed to reinvent myself. When I started this journey into adulthood, I really did think that teaching music would be my end goal. I studied music for one year and decided that I needed to amend my thinking. I found my passion during my sophomore year of college when I discovered that I could train to be a deaconess. Yet few people in my life even know that part of me. The idea of combining teaching, helping families, music, and my love for my Savior into one career was pure genius to me.
I never did finish that deaconess degree. Instead God, in his wisdom, led me on another path. I met my husband. Since he was studying to be a pastor, I adjusted my thinking yet again and chose to follow only one of my goals. I was able to finish my teaching degree before we married. Teaching served me well during those early years. I was able to teach in a variety of situations while my husband was finishing up his degree. I liked working with younger children. I taught pre-school, a pre-first class (12 very special kids who could not quite make it to first grade after kindergarten), and first grade, and even supervised student teachers during those years. There were times when we would move to a new town and I would look for work and substitute in a variety of grades while waiting for my next job. Other times I would go back to what helped me pay for college and I would work as a teller at a bank.
I will save my “infertility and why we adopted” story for a blog post. But once we became parents, I worked to reinvent myself again. I tried selling stuff. I am horrible at this type of work. I finally went back to my roots of teaching. The arts council of the town we lived in at the time offered so much for young people and the community. My oldest daughter had started taking a dance class, so I volunteered for the hour she danced every week. This eventually led to me being a teacher of art and part of a team that offered free art experiences for families once a month. It was so much fun to tap into my creative side. I even had the opportunity to teach head start teachers about teaching art. Interestingly, I would not say that I had much artistic ability nor was this career ever on my bucket list. I was content to use my gifts in this way until my husband was called to be a professor.
The town that we moved into knew nothing of my art classes and had few programs for families like what I had done. I suppose I could have started a program but I was more concerned about transitioning my family to a new home. I taught again, this time 8th grade but only for one year. It was then that I decided to go back to my passion for helping families. I started working on my masters in counseling. What a great fit this was for me! I worked for 12 years as a family counselor in a Christian setting. I used my teaching background and my artistic background (both music and art). I learned to use play therapy to help children and I became adoption counseling competent. I was on the state board to promote adoption competency. I learned how to help in crises and trauma. I was able to advise and visit orphanages and life centers in Ukraine, India, and Haiti. I helped earthquake victims in Nepal and countless people through my counseling work with Christian Family Counseling.
Meanwhile, God was at work preparing my husband also. Mike finished his doctoral work and had numerous opportunities to teach Greek, New Testament, and practical classes both at home at Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary and in other countries (Ukraine, India, and China). We had traveled often together to support each other in our work. We had been twice to China and loved the people there. When the call came to ask my husband to consider teaching at Asia Lutheran Seminary in Hong Kong we were both surprised. The academic work fit him perfectly! We felt that this position was what he needed to do. We saw doors opening and even what were originally seen as obstacles seemed less significant. Don’t get me wrong: our aging parents, children, and granddaughter were good reasons to stay. Even our brand-new home that we had planned to retire in was seen as an obstacle. But a house can wait; it’s only a thing. Our siblings were around to help with parents. Our children began to support us in going to serve. And we have already started on connecting with our granddaughter in new ways (FaceTime and any other video messaging platform).
But what was I going to do? This time I did not have to reinvent or compromise but use all that God has taught me along the way. Doors are opening and I am not sure where everything will eventually lead but for now I will be working with Friends of China as a mission counselor. I will have to blog later about what it is that I will be doing because so much is not really known yet. It seems that all my strengths in teaching, counseling, and helping people will be used. I feel called to do this work as much as my husband is called to go to Hong Kong.
Let the adventure begin!
Here am I, send me 