A Change of Plans

I feel like my journey with Lord, while not an impressive amount of years long, started with a drastic shift in education and vocation. Before I was saved, I was on my way to nursing school. I had just passed the national test and received my EMT license and was taking science courses to transfer to a university to get my BSN. I was 21 at the time and really only thought that I would be good at helping people get better physically, but I really was afraid of the educational journey that would be nursing school and was not very confident in myself to accomplish this goal. When I found a group of friends who loved and cared for me like none I had ever experienced, I was confronted with a new choice and opportunity. I started going to church, reading my Bible, and journaling (where I began praying to God to reveal Himself to me). Within 3 months of attending church, I had given my life to Jesus and was baptized the same day. Within the first two weeks of being a Christian, I woke up from a long night of sleep with a great and deep sense that I was to minister to girls in high school.

God had saved me and quickly called me to ministry. I knew this would be something I needed to pursue and that God was going to use me in this way for a long time. This is when I knew I needed to switch my educational goals, and I dropped out of school. I had no idea what and where I would go next, but I knew the Lord would provide. He did indeed as I continuously got calls to lead high school girls’ groups and lead at summer camps. I was amazed because no one knew that I felt like the Lord was calling me to ministry and here He was giving me opportunities to use the gifts that I had no idea I even had.

Over the years He has grown me in my giftings and moved me from different ministries. But I have not wavered on the fact that Jesus is guiding and leading me to the next ministry where He will once again give me opportunities to use my gifts, experience, and education to minister to those who are in need of spiritual healing. In general, all Christians are called to minister to those around us and I am so excited that I have adopted this calling when I decided to become a follower of Jesus. Whether I do vocational ministry in the church or a parachurch organization, I am confident that my education now at Biola has trained and equipped me for preaching and teaching the Word of God to believers and non-believers.

I am called to be a faithful obedient follower of Christ and to use my experiences and growing knowledge of God to serve in the Kingdom of God. I am glad that serving in the Kingdom of God is a general description of what it means to be a Christian, because this means that no matter where God has me year to year, I can be confident I am serving the Lord in all that I do, no matter the ministry.