God sends us daily blessings, gifts of Love, in the form or friends, strangers, or simple happenings in life. Sometimes He blesses us with someone who comes alongside us and helps us grow and process where we are at. I feel like God has blessed me extra-ordinarily in the area of guidance and mentorship. Through each stage of my life God has provided an older woman or peer to come alongside me. In High School I was blessed with a Bible Study leader who later became my discipler. Michelle Beckman is an incredible single woman of God who has such a heart for discipleship and for reaching out to young Christians. It was Michelle who was there when at the age of 15 I decided to give my life fully to Christ and begin walking in God's truth. Then later, halfway through my senior year Michelle prayed with me as I opened up the rest of my heart to God and committed to fully serve Him, to lead a Spirit-filled, completely surrendered life. She continued to meet with me when I came home for school Holidays and to this day we still get together to talk through life when we can. She always know how to ask the hard questions, the ones that produce revelation and growth. She taught me to pray the dangerous prayers, to experience God's grace, and to be aware of relationship with God and others. With her I began the process of discovering who I am in Christ and who God has made me to be.
Then I went to college and eventually God brought Jen Catoe into my life to disciple me for my last two years. It was amazing to talk with her about what God was teaching me and to be able to have her hold me accountable as I began to trust God and follow his leading more and more in my life. Jen showed me a gentle spirit and helped me through a tough time of healing. Also at this time God brought into my life several friends that were strong in their faith and together we led the Crusade ministry at Converse and with Jen's guidance poured into each others lives. I learned about peer guidance at this time and how to hold my friends accountable as we all strived to trust and serve God more. (I will be a bridesmaid in one of their weddings in a few weeks!!)
So what now? Again God has blessed me in an incredible way. As a part of the new staff training program that I will be going through for this next year I have been assigned a coach to work with me on personal development. And guess what? I just possibly got the best coach there is at headquarters. Sandy Fernandez is also a member of the team I work with!! Which is doubly exciting because we work together on top of her being my coach so it is easier for her to know what I'm talking about and going through. Plus she is a Third Culture Kid as well, so she understands many of my internal struggles and questions. On top of all this, she is a professionally trained Life Coach and has an amazing gifting and heart for coaching!! How amazing is this. Just like Michelle, she knows what questions to ask and how to challenge me with applications of what I am learning. God has got to be planning something big for my life with the amazing ways I have seen Him pouring into me and the lessons he has taught me. I am not perfect, I struggle a lot with a lot of things, but for some reason He has chosen to smile on me!! How loved I feel when I step back and look at my life. I can't wait for God to hand me the ticket to my destiny!! (reference from the book "TrueFaced")
So I would like to say thank you to God for these amazing women that He has placed in my life and allowed to pour into me. Michelle, Jen, Joanna, Amy, Keeley, and Sandy!! I can't wait to be able to pour into the lives of other girls and share with them a little bit of what God has done in my life and taught me.
