Years ago I thought God was calling me to the mission field; however, I was too young to realize that I could ever be a missionary. I certainly was not good enough, and I certainly didn't have the Bible knowledge that a missionary would need. I was female. I had never been away from home. The excuses were always ready whenever the thought of being a missionary would go through my head.
Years passed and the tug at my heart faded. I moved away from God. God never once left my side.
My life had very strange twists and turns, heartaches (many heartaches), I made a lot of wrong decisions. I couldn't focus on a future, I lived one day at a time.
One day I found myself in a position with two small children and a poor economy which had taken my job. I believe this to be one of the low points of my life. I had two choices. I could feel sorry for myself and blame God for my misfortune, or I could do something constructive about my situation. I chose to stop living without a tomorrow and to begin looking toward the future.
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| My children and me in better days. |
I evaluated my options. I had absolutely no money. I was drawing unemployment, and I was actively looking for a job. I had a lot of time left over in the day. With prayer for strength, I made a tough decision. I would go to school. I would go to Piedmont College! This is where you are shaking your head and thinking I have lost mine. No money and going to school? How do you intend to accomplish this, you are asking yourself. Right?
The longest walk was the steps going up to the front door of Daniel Hall. I had parked across the street from the school and took the flight of steps. This became symbolic of the road ahead of me. It began with the first step and kept going upward as I worked toward my goal.
The Registrar's Office was on my left as I came through the front door of Daniel Hall. I went through the door to his secretary and said simply, "I want to go to school, but I have no money. Where is the Financial Aid Office?" Instead of telling me where it was, she took me there.
The gentlemen who worked there were attentive, and I left with a handful of financial aid forms. As the years have passed, my advice to all students has been, "always complete financial aid forms, you never know what you might qualify for, and all you have invested is the time it takes to complete the form." The time it took to complete the forms was a major investment in my future. I qualified for grants! Yes, grants! I didn't have to pay them back! God was moving me closer to a mission field that I had excused my self from over ten years earlier. I did not recognize He was moving me closer to His original plan.
I was able to start Piedmont College the fall of 1975! Education was my goal!
The road wasn't easy. There were obstacles. Lots of obstacles! Keeping a focus on my goal was not easy. God walked with me even when I thought He had forgotten me. God never leaves us; we leave Him.
Graduation from Piedmont College, a goal that I had set for myself. With the help of my mother, who kept my children so that I never had to worry about them, and the wonderful hand of God, I had reached my goal of a college diploma.
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| Graduation from Piedmont College |
Years later I realized that God had put me in the middle of a mission field. The classroom. I was teaching. I was working with teenagers, and loving every minute of it! Now you are saying, "Whoa!" Public school in America is not a mission field!"
A mission field is where God sends you. It is up to you to develop that field. Public school in America is not a traditional mission field, but the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) can't regulate your personal spirit: The spirit of your smile; your spirit of compassion; your spirit of giving; your spirit of love for one another, and they certainly cannot regulate the spirit of love the students show toward their teachers. One does not have to quote scripture to show the love of Jesus Christ each day.
Where is your mission field? We greet each day with a mission in life. We were given this mission by Jesus when He said for us to love one another. Are you working in your mission field today?
It is me again, Lord, thanking you for not giving up on me when I was giving you excuses for why I could never be a missionary.
A little Georgia Wisdom: If you are not happy where you are in life, maybe you are not following God's plan for you. Take time to find out what God's plan is for your life. You will enjoy the outcome.
