Romans 8:28 reminds us that "we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose."
Growing up, I knew what I was going to be. Well, I knew what I told everyone I was going to be, and I insisted it had nothing to do with the money. It only had to do with working with the kids. Funny thing, as I advanced through middle and high school, clinging to the idea that I would become a pediatrician, I also knew deep down that becoming a pediatrician wasn't what I should do.
Afterall, if anyone even hinted they were going to throw up, you could count on me to have to hold it down myself. And blood....yeah, I didn't do great with my own blood, let alone the blood of strangers. Oh, and let's not forget the shots. No, I didn't do shots too well either. But somehow I convinced myself that the nurses had to do more of the "gross" work. Humpf, who was I kidding?
As fate would have it, I knew I would need to start accumulating volunteer hours and that's where I started working at the daycare at Miles Road Baptist Church. I had been babysitting since I was about 8 years old and almost 8 years later it just made sense. Besides, my mom had taken a break from banking and was the older 2 year old teacher at the daycare. Over Christmas break I started putting in my volunteer hours that turned into my first official job.
As luck would have it, we moved about 6 months later. Prior to moving one of the youth pastors at the same church where I worked throughout the week and attended services on Sunday and choir rehearsals on Wednesdays, shared Romans 8:28 with me.
Finding a job in the Greenville area was tough. Daycares weren't looking for a high schooler, no matter how mature. Besides that the hours they could offer were limited...more like substitute when someone was out. So I began making pizzas to earn my money. Now don't get me wrong the work wasn't too bad, by the time I had been at it a little less than a year, I had proven myself and as a senior in high school, I was also an assistant manager at Little Caesars. Talk about a tough move, one day working alongside classmates as their peer, then as one of their bosses. You guessed it, I had to make it known that I meant business, so the first day I was called a b****, I figured they were getting the point. Work was fairly smooth sailing after that, for the most part.
But you know what I missed the most? Working with the kids. I missed the daycare.
So the high school job played one factor in my realization that I hadn't quite chosen the right profession just yet.
Now let's take a look at my last 2 years in high school. As a junior and even early my senior year, I started paying special attention to colleges and even went to visit Lander with the idea that I would one day be going to med school. I was also determined to stay in honor choir my junior year despite being in a new school which meant a choice had to be made. I decided to take Latin instead of German 2 because afterall, doctors need to know the basics of Latin with all the terminology. Let's just say, I don't recall one part of Latin other than an unruly class. So instead of wasting another year, as a senior I took German 2.
I was also faced with another decision as a senior. Although I had signed up for Teacher Cadets, my schedule did not reflect it. Why? Because it was offered at the same time as honor choir. Within a week I had my schedule changed. Although it may sound petty, especially since as a sophomore in Charleston, I was first put in the alto section of choir (moved mid year to soprano), my choir teacher decided to move me from 2nd soprano to alto and expected me to already know how to sing my part in the National Anthem. That did it. I struggled terribly as an alto that first week and got my schedule changed.
I got to spend a wonderful year in teacher cadets working with a fifth grade class. By the end of the year, although I was never one to win popularity contests, I was nominated by my peers and awarded Teacher Cadet of the Year.
So now, factor 2...the joy of being in teacher cadets and working with those fifth graders.
A final deciding factor was my mom. Although I was always told I could be anything I wanted to be, I held tight to what my adolescent mind considered the more prestigious careers. Late one night she came in my room (or maybe it was super early one morning) to talk. Somewhere within that talk there was discussion about (well, mostly my mom talking and me listening and crying cause that's what I do) my love for children and desire to have children one day. Somewhere in that discussion was mention of teaching and the type of schedule vs that of a doctor. While I knew I could make any decision about a career and I would get support, but it was this night that now I can look back on 16 years or so later and realize that it felt like permission. Like it was okay to be a teacher and okay to not be a doctor.
You see, for years I wondered did I just give up on what I could have become and take an "easier" way. That's actually quite funny for so many reasons....teaching and easier in the same thought? LOL! Basically I wondered if I had stepped off the path God intended. But you know what? I don't know that I ever really prayed about either career, at least not the way I pray for things now. So I can't say I prayed to be led in the right direction, what I can say is divine intervention stepped in. As they say hindsight is 20/20 and I can see these three very distinct factors and can honestly say I believe these were God's way of showing me the path He had intended all along.
So here I am. In reality I've been in the classroom for 12 years now, but on paper only 11 since the year of long term subbing does not count on my certificate. Five of those years outside of the classroom working with the teachers because as fate would have it once again, I was approached and asked about a job opportunity that had no guarantees, but I had the only guarantee I needed. Immediately Romans 8:28 popped in my head. I didn't have to weigh my choices, I just had to listen and for me having a specific verse, and especially Romans 8:28 pop in my head was all that I needed, to know that God had spoken.
And you know what, until recently I planned on writing a post about God's sense of humor considering all the doctor's visits and all the medical knowledge I have to know to best care for my children. And yes, even the "gross" stuff that only as a mom I think I am able to handle. I've been thrown up on, peed on, cleaned up blood more times than I can count, learned how to wet wrap, how to give breathing treatments, and soon will learn how to feed Bradley through a feeding tube. You see God gave me an incredible mind and ability to learn, he equipped me with what he knew I was going to need in life, and then made sure I took the right path because while he knew I would need to be able to be a doctor, he also knew that the doctor I would need to be would not be one of other people's kids, it would be one that only a mother can be. He needed me in this place, in this position, to be ready for the next steps on our journey in this life.
So as you think about your own lifesong and reflect on the decisions you've made in life remember that things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose.
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