If my adolescent dreams had come true, I’d be flying a plane over some remote area of the world, teaching a group of native children how to read, working as a journalist in the Air Force, or designing vintage-inspired clothing instead of sitting here trying to describe myself in less than 500 words.
A writer? I said I didn’t want to be one.
A dental assistant? Definitely not on the dream job list.
So how did I get to be both of the above?
I prayed.
When I was four years old, I made the most important decision of my life. I recognized that I was a sinner, that the only way to escape the eternal punishment in hell that my sin earned me was to call out to Jesus to save me and give me eternal life. With my family gathered in my parents’ room, I knelt by the bed and did just that, and that evening my relationship to God as His child began.
Over the years my relationship with Him deepened, and when it came time to decide what I was going to do with my life, I knew it was a decision I did not want to make without God’s help. As a person with many dreams and interests, I did not know what life work I should pursue, and I knew that in His endless wisdom, God did. So I asked Him to show me what He wanted me to do with my life. And gradually, over time, He made it clear.
He wanted me to be a writer.
The only thing I had said I didn’t want to be.
Don’t get me wrong, I liked writing and all, and had been told I was pretty good at it. But when I thought about being a writer I imagined being sequestered in a house by a rocky seashore (where the sky was always gray), living only through the pages of my stories while the rest of the world went on grand adventures without me. I don’t know why I held that impression of writing- it’s certainly not how I feel about it now!
As I was trying to figure out how this calling was going to play out in my life and what I should be doing to pursue it, I also knew I needed a day job. All summer long as I worked at my seasonal job at a farm stand, I fervently asked God for direction. After seeing the way He answered my prayers about writing, I was excited to see how He would answer this request. I prayed very specifically for the things I wanted in a job (ten things, to be exact- but that’s a story for another day), and He really answered my prayers above and beyond anything I could have imagined. Every thing I asked for in a job, He gave me.
And so I became a dental assistant. I began part-time, but gradually both my hours and responsibilities grew to a full time position. This job has been a wonderful gateway for experiences, relationships, and opportunities that have helped me gain confidence and develop my writing skills.
Now that I have begun this journey of becoming a writer, I can see just how God has given me a personality, interests, and abilities that are perfectly suited for His plan for me (even as I have to trust that He will give me grace to change the parts of my character that aren’t so well-suited to being a writer!).
I believe that the single most important thing any person can do is to begin a real relationship with God through salvation and then to deepen that relationship by studying His Word and talking to Him in prayer daily. My purpose in writing is to encourage, challenge, and inspire you to pursue knowing God, whether it be through devotionals that share what He is teaching me or stories that highlight the challenges and triumphs of living by faith. There is so much that God promises us if we will claim it by faith.
I invite you to join me on this adventure of knowing and following Jesus!
If you want to know more…
Here are a few fun facts about me:
- My three great loves, as I like to call them, are writing, sewing, and playing the piano. I have a mandolin and hope to learn to play it as well (my Grandmother played when she was young) and I also have dreams of being able to draft my own clothing patterns.
- My favorite movies and music are from the era of the 1930’s, 40’s, and 50’s. Musicals have always been my favorite (when I was little I called them movies with “pretty girls in pretty dresses.”).
- I’ve been taking karate classes since March 2016 and have my green belt. I’m also learning BoStaff, which is so much fun!
- I have a thing for mugs (especially ones with words on them) and I love loose tea. Rooibos is my favorite flavor.
- I took snowboarding lessons for about five years.
- I love to go to concerts, plays, and even the occasional ballet. My first experience seeing a play was when my friend and her family surprised me and took my family and I to see Sense and Sensibility. The best performance I have ever seen was the Phantom of the Opera.
- I live in central New Hampshire and think my state is pretty awesome.
- My favorite way to study the Bible is through inductive Bible studies by Kay Arthur.
- Emily P. Freeman, Lynn Austin, and L.M. Montgomery are some of my favorite authors.
- I adore old books with inscriptions written in the front.
- I love classic, stylish clothing, but most of the time I can be found wearing jeans and a sweatshirt.
- I love Cabbage Patch Kids- my first stories were about all about my dolls and their adventures. Sometimes I walk down the toy aisle and smell the baby powder scent of new Cabbage Patch Kids and I want to bring another one home.
- I can’t write about my life in less than 500 words. Ooops.