I made the mistake of telling God I wanted to be great and do great things. Little did I know how He would honor that request once I completely surrendered my all to Him and allowed Him to govern my life.
Five years ago I felt a gentle urging in my spirit to do something more. To do something I never imagined or planned for myself. Soon that gentle urging turned into something I could not deny or run from…it became a divine calling on my life that I could not ignore. Now I am living out that calling every single day, and it has become so much more than I could have ever imagined for myself. God is opening doors I never knew existed and giving me opportunities to grow in such amazing ways! I finally feel like I am becoming the Kingdom woman He created me to be in every aspect of my life.
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” – Ephesians 3:20
A week ago I woke up with butterflies in my stomach and stars in my eyes. Giggling like a little school girl I knew that I was in love! I am so in love and excited about the direction God is taking my life, and how He is preparing me each day to be great and to do even greater things! Even in the craziness and busyness of my life at this point, I am so in love with it all and excited my portion. God has been increasing my capacity for more of Him and the Holy Spirit and revealing Himself to me in new and unexpected ways. God has been affirming me and my calling with His word and beautiful prophetic pictures that keep blowing my mind! I keep wondering if it can ever get better than this…what God has given me and done in my life in the last two years here in South Africa, can it ever be better?! But God has already been showing me that this is only the beginning. If I think this is amazing I must get ready for what is coming next! Dream bigger and bigger. Then dream even bigger. But those dreams still don’t even come close to what my Father has in store!
“Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” – Psalm 37:4
God told me to come to South Africa. I said yes. Dad said what do you plan to do there?
My plan was to come and work/volunteer with the Lebone Centre and also study part time. Although I set out to do my Masters in Education, the university would not allow me to do my Masters because I had less than five years of teaching experience. So they suggested I do my Honors in Education (over the span of two years) and then pursue my masters degree. There isn’t a Honors degree in the US, but in South Africa undergraduate degrees are only three years so the Honors degree is like the bridging course between a Bachelors and Masters degree. This rigorous year or two of study is meant to prepare students for research and specialization in their particular content area. So, I spent the last two years studying my Honors degree in Education.
I can’t lie and say there were not many times I felt I was wasting my time (not because the courses were not interesting or I wasn’t gaining helpful skills) but simply because there is no Honors degree in the US and the closest equivalent would be another Bachelors degree although the rigor and prestige could qualify it as a Masters degree at many American Universities. But I persevered and now I will graduate in April with my Honors degree in Education!
Then God reminded me of my desire to do my Masters degree in Education, and after two and a half months of debating if I still wanted to do it, 15 pages of a research proposal later I am officially a Masters in Education student at Rhodes University!
This is a full thesis masters that I am aiming and praying to finish at the end of the year, so let the writing begin!
Even though I am doing a hundred other things, God has already been faithful in giving me the energy and drive to pursue my dream. When I do return home (eventually) not only will I have the experience but also the qualifications.
Pray with me as I pursue and accomplish this goal. Stay tuned to see the amazing moves of God in my life this year!
Adventures of a School Teacher 