Reach the One

My family had experienced significant levels of trauma: violence, divorce, poverty; this day-to-day chaos significantly impacted my upbringing.

Looking for Love

I craved belonging, love, and peace. Oftentimes, I looked for love in all the wrong places. My teacher noticed. She stopped me one day in the hallway and said, “I’d like to invite you to a youth convention.”

When I told her I had no money, she replied, “I’ll find the money.”

When I told her “I cannot attend because I have a state-qualifier track meet,” she had anticipated my response. “I’ll attend your track meet and take you to the conference afterwards,” she said. Left with no excuse, I reluctantly agreed to attend.

I still remember the conference speaker’s words: “God has a plan and purpose for your life, and if you receive God’s love, He will use you all over the world to help other hurting, broken, messy people to experience His freedom.”

From that moment on, I have dedicated my life to seeking and serving the Lord every day and proclaiming His goodness all over the world. God truly rescued me.

Unafraid

This past March, David Sabatini, a distinguished engineering professor from the University of Oklahoma, spoke to the Christian Faculty-Staff Fellowship here at Oklahoma State. He talked about serving his undergrad and graduate students and being unafraid to let them know in appropriate ways why he is a follower of Christ. Because of what he shared, I felt a little bit braver to let my own faith be known. I have taken his example with me during my recent travels. 

I am a teacher educator who serves pre-service and in-service teachers. This summer I was able to speak at a Christian university in El Salvador on behalf of Faculty Commons. I shared with those education majors how one teacher had changed the trajectory of my whole life because she cared about me and shared her faith. I ended my presentation by saying, “You were made for this moment!” I recited Romans 1:16 (NLT), “For I am not ashamed of the Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes.” 

Live on Mission

Afterward a Salvadoran faculty member wrapped her arms around me. With tears in her eyes, she shared how she has been a Christian for 17 years, but until that moment, did not understand the idea of living on mission. She felt inspired to use her career to make an intentional difference on her campus by supporting and serving her colleagues.

I cannot wait to see what the Lord accomplishes through her, who, much like that high school teacher who helped me, saw that living on mission can so greatly influence the lives of others.