To be honest, I’m not naturally outgoing. I would much rather be behind the scenes than up front, and no one would ever describe me as the life of any party. I am passionate about people, though, and I especially desire to see the people around me feel connected, included, and understood. So, God has been teaching me a lot about stepping out of my own comfort zone. To meet someone new, even when it would be easier to keep to myself. To extend an invitation to another mom to come over for a playdate, no matter what the state of the cleanliness of my house. And to offer support for whatever needs He places in my path, even if what I have to offer seems inadequate. As my husband and I raise our four young kiddos, I hope we are teaching them by example to take the time to really see the people around them, to listen to their stories, and to offer friendship and support as an expression of God’s love.
Inside Scoop
- As a child, I always loved to write, whether in a journal or composing imagined novels. Once, in third grade, I won a writing contest at my elementary school (still not sure why “King Good Saves the Animals” hasn’t hit the top-sellers list yet, haha!). Now, as an adult, I am discovering that writing is one of the most helpful ways for me to process what I am learning. Here at TtT, I feel blessed to be able to write and process alongside other women who are seeking to follow Christ in all they do – and to be real about the ups and downs of motherhood along the way.
- My husband and I met in the beginning of our sophomore year of college while we were both participating in Intervarsity Christian Fellowship (probably the only way early childhood education and chemical engineering majors would cross paths at a large state university!). After becoming good friends, we started dating that spring. Two years later and just a few days after my graduation, we were engaged and then married the following summer.
- I was a public school teacher, in preschool special education, for five years. I loved my job and poured my heart into each student who entered the door of my classroom. Every day was different; every day I was learning something new about my students and how to reach them. I hope to go back to teaching one day. I often joke that I’m still more comfortable in a room full of four year olds than a room of adults. If only that comfort level translated into some type of insight into the dilemmas of motherhood, I’d be set!
- When my oldest son was born, I transitioned into the world of being a stay at home mom. Then, at approximately two year intervals, my second son was born, followed by my daughter, and then another son. While I was pregnant with my youngest son, my water broke very early (31 weeks) which resulted in hospital bedrest for me and a NICU stay for him when he arrived about 7 weeks prematurely. God has been teaching me my whole life to depend on Him instead of myself. And to place my worries and anxieties in His capable hands. Those lessons may have been most obvious in a hospital bed, but God is still teaching me the same lessons through all the million, day to day situations with my four kids.
- These days, in addition to keeping busy with my littles at home, I am volunteering regularly at my kids’ schools and also with the preschool/Kindergarten class at my church on Sundays. I enjoy these small tastes of the teaching life I once led. And I love seeing up close what my own children are learning and doing at school and at church.