Sometimes I forget…

that my experience as a teacher and more specifically as a reading specialist might be a central part of my ministry. Because I was a public school teacher, I had trained myself to show my faith in encouraging families and working hard to provide a quality education to children in poverty and in at risk situations.

But now, as I near graduation, I can’t help but think that there’s a natural integration between the two educational tracks I’ve taken. I was thinking about this as I checked with a local children’s home asking about potential mission opportunities for our church. In passing as I was finishing the call, I mentioned that I would be interested in volunteering if they had any children with particular reading needs or delays (I can’t quiet the teacher in me) to which the director responded that they were getting ready to implement an after school program and really needed guidance from someone with a background in education as to how that would best work.

I don’t know why I mentioned my experience as I was about to hang up. I don’t know why I got an inkling as I drove by that children’s home, but maybe, just maybe answering this call to ministry means stepping fully into who you are created to be and acknowledging that all your passions can come together in a way that you yourself could never imagine.