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Saturday, September 24, 2011

A (not-so boring) Education Story

The spring of 2009 was awkward for me to be around people my age. Everyone was graduating from college. I hadn't kept up with most people from high school, but I knew... they were all graduating.

Craig loved high school. I, on the other hand... still have bad dreams regularly. Like the one I have too often about me failing math (which was almost a reality) and not being able to graduate high school early. Sometimes I have to pull out my diploma to make sure I really did finish high school. I DID. I was eager to get out and finished a semester early, skipping the senior events including my own graduation. People said I would regret all of that. Almost 7 years later I still don't. I headed out to Savannah, GA to live with my sister for a while. I was sooo done with high school and New England. I was a fresh 18 and had big dreams.

I ran into a sweet girl who is entering her third year of college in Vermont as an out-of-state student (don't even think about how much it costs her!) She wondered if she had made the right choice. Her friend is going to a community college for her first two years to save money (AMEN for choosing to go into as little debt as possible!) with plans of transferring to a Christian college. This girl wants to be a missionary... and most mission organizations require a 4-year degree... and to be debt free.

My husband has told me, if he could do it over again, he would go this route. After 4 years at a Christian school in the mid-west (which he loved and gives so much credit to his spiritual formation to) I married a man with a lot of debt. Student loans to be exact ;) We have battled the regret of student loans and the blessing of only having one set of them.  

I do not believe he would have his current (or former) job 
if he did not have a degree.

I rebelled against the idea of "traditional college" but I was also broke. Not the typical college kid broke, the-my-parents-don't-believe-in-debt-and-won't-co-sign-for-me-to-get-a student- loan kind of broke.  

I spent 2 years taking classes PAYING AS I WENT in order to help work me towards getting a college degree.

And then I did it. I had everything set up to move to Michigan and do my traditional college education. I was 21 years old and my two roommates were going back to school. I had an apartment waiting for me and was 2 weeks from moving when my loans wouldn't come through. My parents hadn't changed their minds and even though I had been living on my own, I couldn't declare independent on loans. 

You know what? God had better plans for me. 
Seriously, I know that sounds cliche but less than 2 months later my now husband (and then friend of 7 years) and I began dating intentionally and married 5 months later. 2 1/2 year into marriage, I can tell you  how I become more and more convinced that God was behind all of that..  

BECAUSE HE HAD SOMETHING BETTER 
THAN WHAT I WANTED. 

Some people ask me when I will go back to school. I don't have plans to right now. I can't say that in 20 years when Abigail is grown and my hearts feels pressed to pursue my passion for nursing and we have the money that I won't then. 

If I truly believed that it was beneficial to my family and our ministry to continue my education right now, then I would be taking classes.

My ministry is my husband and then our daughter. 
Abigail is my more than full-time job. Whatever odd jobs I can work (working for my Dad's carpentry business, baby-sitting) AND bring her to help provide for our family financially I take them! I started my own business from home (REDEMPTION soap) for goodness sake to help pay off Craig's student loans faster!

OUR ministry is Cwtrials.  
God has been blessing this ministry like crazy 
and we believe He has BIG plans for us using this. 

My plate is full. I want to do everything well, so I limit myself. My little family comes first. Our ministry doing Cwtrials is second. and my business comes after those first things are DONE WELL. 

This is our season, this is the life God has given 
us when we offered our lives up to him. 
We couldn't be more happy to be serving Him this way.
I recently read an article in Gospel for Asia's magazine. K.P. Yohannan wrote this 
"Man measures the quality and usefulness of a person by his education, ability and expertise. Yet God determines his true value by the condition of his heart: 'Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.' (1 Samuel 16:7)"

If going to college, getting a degree or going for a Masters + is what you believe in your heart is what is right and best for you (AND your family if you have one), and if you know the Lord and He has placed this on your heart - GO and do it, but do it with ALL of your heart. Soak in your lectures and readings. Attend classes and make your money worth it. Use you education to maximize how you can love and serve the Lord, or if you don't know Him, make the most out of your hard work. 

Your value is not in what you do or who people say you are. 
You have value because Christ loves you and 
HE says you are worth it.