Background
Growing up, I always knew I wanted to make a difference, to make the world better somehow, but the one sticking point was how? How could I make a difference and what would make the biggest impact for good?
In high school, I traveled on a mission trip to Ecuador and then, in college, I studied abroad in Namibia, also visiting South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Lesotho. These early travels gave me the benefit of a wider vision. I was able to get a small glimpse into what struggles people faced in different areas of the world.
After I graduated from University, the question of how to make the biggest impact for good still lingered in my mind. As I searched for an answer, I left my hometown in the Midwest to do a year of volunteer service in the Pacific Northwest, somewhere I had never even visited before I boarded the train to move there.
Living in an intentional community and committing to a year of simple living, I learned a lot as I worked with people from all walks of life, who were struggling to get clean and sober at the Matt Talbot New Hope Center. During my year of service I felt that God was calling me to a life of ministry and I really wrestled with that calling. I wasn't clear on exactly what that meant, but as I explored the idea of ordained ministry, my wrestling led me to the place I now call home: Tacoma, Washington.
Still considering the idea of ministry, I took the opportunity to work in a local church through a program of World Vision called Vision Youth. The program set about to serve at-risk youth through local church communities. I met so many amazing people through this program but most notably my (now) husband who was also in the program, working at another local church. All the while I continued to ask myself the question: how can I bring about the most good?
My path took more twists and turns. I next worked for another amazing organization, but, this time, in a specialized dental office, for Doctor Farrand Robson who pioneered an amazing oral appliance that addressed the ease of swallowing, speaking and breathing, head, neck and facial pain and so much more. He was always pushing beyond the known towards new science that brought hope and life to so many patients. It was such an honor to work with and for him in this specialized ministry. His extraordinary work helped so many. I felt I was where I was meant to be, for a time.
Then, a new season spread before me as I left to focus on a new calling, to become a full-time stay-at-home mother. Sometimes I looked back and wondered whether I was answering God's call, but on each step of the journey, the question of how to bring about the most good in this world has stayed at the center, with my faith in Christ guiding and sustaining me.
I found my way, with the support of my husband, through infertility, through desolate times as a new mom struggling to keep up as my body seemed to be shutting down (thanks to peri menopause/menopause) and a recent resurrection of sorts as I started to see the toxic patterns of my thoughts and began the work of rooting out those weeds to allow the beautiful word of God to thrive.
Now, I am using my years of expertise, of staying in the question, to find new questions that serve others in their search for better relationships, for better marriages and for more impact in the world.
Are you looking for something more, something better? I would be honored to walk alongside you and help you find the questions that will get you there, where you will find your missing peace.
“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19