Where do you see yourself...

One of the things I love about our trips (which are not vacations by the way...contrary to popular belief) is getting to know the students better and have long and short and interesting and wacky conversations... Everything from how many broken bones to where do you see yourself in 5 years... For them... seniors in high school or freshman in college... for me...the mom of a high schooler and middle schooler - that's pretty crazy. Then I started to think about the crazy ride that God has had for me over the course of my life... (I'm kinda talking more work-wise here, I think, we'll see where this goes...) The group was really interested in if I would be doing student ministry for a while or not... and what I would be doing if I wasn't a middle school youth pastor. I had been a stay-at-home mom for a few months before accepting the new role in Salem, together with having fun as a Creative Memories consultant...so I guess I'd be doing that - together with volunteering with student ministry somewhere... I've always just kinda walked through the doors that have come my way - many times surprisingly... I was also thinking this week how by my closet you'd think I'm going backwards in life --- in my early 20's - mid 20's til about 5 years ago... dressy clothes, suits, dresses, heels, purses, plus a few jeans and t-shirts... Now? jeans, jeans, jeans, jeans, jeans, tshirts t shirts tshirts... 1-2 pairs of khakis and a couple of dressier shirts. You'd think I was reverting... and yet... while I have mostly truly enjoyed the experiences of my work experience - by many standards people still wonder what I'm really going to do with my life...but I think this job IS the job of a lifetime... I don't even like calling it a job. I believe with all my heart that this IS what God wants me to do --- and I'm blessed to get to do it... But...let's take a look back at the ride to get here... a very unlikely road (I think...)

• Accepted Christ as a Senior in high school (woo hoo Campus Life/Youth for Christ ministry!) I include this only because it feels like many I meet accepted Christ very young, and that's not my story... OK...so what "jobs" have I held...
• Baby sitter --- I did this SOOOOO much from 7th grade til yeah...forever. Oh the babysitting stories --- from motorcyles to possums to a trip to the Bahamas... I should blog about those sometime...
• A receptionist, then secretary in a legal office - 7 attorneys - very eye opening for a young naive 17-18 year old - my first "real" job --- I think I made $4/hour to start - wow!
• Receptionist/real estate office where my mom worked...a funny work moment --- when an agent asked how I got to work, and I told her I drove, and she asked if it was ok w/ my mom, and I said - sure... Then she asked how old I was and I told her 18 - and she told me she thoughts I was 13! Not necessarily the compliment I was looking for - I appreciate now though the times people mistakenly think I'm 5 years younger... (btw - this was a part time job...)
• Legal Secretary for a sole practitioner --- A great fit of an office of working at my own pace while doing school, went to work in the morning, then raced off to Chamblee ...
• Youth for Christ/Campus Life - oh the cool experience I got there --- receptionist, secretary, event planning for Golf Tournament & Report to the People banquets, bookkeeping, then a club director and area director... crazy fun/cool days!
• Director's assistant for a paralegal school - someone was willing to give me a shot w/ legal office experience and administrative gifts...even though I had been working for a ministry --- really did like working in that office... then, they closed our office... so... went from office/computer tasks to flying to a different town to prepare for expansion of the school to a different area - investigating classroom space, interviewing teachers, etc. Wow...they really gave me some crazy cool responsibility...
• Administrative Assistant for a Commercial Real Estate firm --- suits every day, heels every day, working in a high-rise building in downtown Atlanta --- ultimate corporate environment... loved working downtown, but most honestly - I was bored out of my mind...when I got a phone call (after being there just 4 months...) to go to...
• Registrar at a different paralegal school --- very personable position with students and instructors...and was in Buckhead - which I truly loved. Again - still suits & dress-up kind of environment...
• Private Christian School --- Headmasters/Development Office Assistant - another chance for a crazy cool variety of things from highly administrative detail, communications, contracts, ordering books, scheduling to helping coordinate with great teams/friends big development events - auctions, golf tournaments, etc. Full time before the kids were born - then part time (ok, sometimes triple full time - during auction season) after God graciously gave us children...
• Stay-at-home mom... honestly felt I needed to stop "working" - one of the hardest decisions I ever made...but totally right...
• Middle School Youth Pastor --- now who would have thought that a receptionist, legal secretary, secretary, bookkeeper, paralegal school working, commercial real estate supporting, Christian school event planning, stay at home mom would end up in the opposite corner of the country as a youth pastor... then again...

So where will I be 5 years from now... who knows... I've always said I always see myself doing student ministry - I can't imagine my life without it. One of my early role models was doing middle school ministry at 70+ - still loving it and still relevant - Oh that He would still have me doing student ministry at 70+ and loving it...and Him more... I've never been great at setting goals career wise...but I remember saying about a year after becoming a Christian that I hoped that people would describe me by saying that I love Jesus with all my heart and that I loved others, regardless of if they believed in Him or not... Five years from now... I hope I love Him more...and love others more...