What's Next?

Heading into this season I knew God wanted me in Chicago. I knew whatever I did needed to be in the field of autism. I knew whatever I did needed to be temporary. I also knew that something in this season was going to help me discover who I am… and more specifically who I am apart from a title, a job, a role, etc.

As I have stepped away from the stuff I loved most and back into the stuff I used to love, it has been amazing to watch God reveal to me to the common denominators that make up that which I’ve spent my life doing. And in revealing those things I have seen that it wasn’t my jobs who made me who I was, It was God. I brought who I was to those places… and I continue to be that person apart from them. I know this all seems so very fundamental, so elementary… I really don’t know if I can fully express, however, how intricate and monumental the discoveries of these truths are. These discoveries have not only helped me to accept the present, but to look to the future and see more clearly where and how God is leading me.


So at the core of who I am… My life’s mission… What I’m committed to doing overall, big picture is to spend my life helping people find and follow Christ. Within that, the two things I have been most passionate about, bring some specific direction to that overall calling. First, offering Christ-centered hope to individuals and families in crisis. That's a big one. The other - helping people discover who they are in Christ and helping them find a way to live that out. It’s neat to look back at the “fields” I’ve been drawn to and see how those opportunities or focuses have been at the core of both.

So what does all of this mean? A lot more school ahead… Hopefully a job at a church that involves counseling and some speaking opportunities… maybe a private practice that will fulfill the vision of the faith-based multi-faceted center for individuals and families in crisis... and hopefully a continued relationship with student and family ministries. You can take the girl out of youth ministry, but...

Now, all of that being said, I have realized something else about myself... I am really good at taking even just a little tiny bit of clarity, a hint of direction, and running full speed ahead with it. I am really good at convincing myself and others that I am convinced even when I'm not... at coming across as though I have a clear, complete picture even if I don't. That's probably not good... And this is why I am so completely grateful that I have people in my life who, if they see something else in me... if they have other ideas, perspectives, wisdom, heck, even opportunities... I AM WIDE OPEN TO IT. :)