Share your story of how you came to be where you are in Christian education. Have you shared this story with your students?

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As a child, I was raised in a liturgical church, memorized the Lords Prayer, Apostles Creed, knew the Bible stories and books of the Bible. Lived a childhood in a traditional family that went to church on Sundays and ate dinner together every evening. As a teenager and young adult, I thrived in school, art, and athletics. I graduated high school, went to community college, married early, and transferred to a University to complete my teaching degree. At 23, my life looked great on paper, but my soul was empty. I was striving to check things off my to do list, accomplishing my goals, and focused on what the next best thing was for me. Although I was not living a horrible lifestyle by the world’s standards, I was not living a God honoring life and there was a void that was not filled with success in school, my spouse, my home, my family, or my friends. My husband and I were ready to part ways, when we decided to try going to church. He had accepted Christ as a little boy at church camp, but never attended church. I had accepted Christ as a teenager, wanting my sins cleaned up and for life to be perfect, and the “magic fairy dust” didn’t work, in my immature belief of salvation. We both had been exposed to the Lord, and had made youthful pledges to Jesus, but there was absolutely no growth or fruit. So, we dressed ourselves up and went to church. For 6 months we tried churches from every denomination. Looking at their doctrine, looking at the Bible, searching for truth. Then one Sunday, we attended a small basement service in a non-denominational Bible Church and we both left with a desire to repent, and dedicate our lives, marriage, and hearts to the Lord. A family followed unexpectedly, and then life was more difficult than before.
Relationships with some friends and family members dissolved because my husband and I were not living the same lifestyle. We were different. We changed. It was an abrupt change in some outward actions and the inward thoughts and habits were a bit slower to change. 25 years ago if you had told me that I would be teaching in a Christian School and that my husband would be serving as a Deacon in our local church, I would have most likely laughed and said absolutely not. There is no way God would ever use us in that way. All three of our adult children have made provisions of faith and we are praying for each of their futures to be fruitful for the Lord.