My Life's Journey

This is my story of how God has lead and guided me through this journey we all call life. I am thankful for what the Lord has done and am excited for how He is continually preparing my future.

My entire life was raised on a wheat farm that seemed like it was always swarming with animals. Mom home-schooled all of us 4 kids, and though that may sound like I grew up pretty much absent from people, I am so thankful for what my parents had sacrificed in their time in teaching us. Both my parents are very godly and strong in the faith and in the Lord — I couldn’t have been more blessed by having them in my life. :) Our family always went to church on Sundays and when possible Laura and I would head to youth group on Wednesday nights. It was when I was 13 years old that my faith in God really took off. I realized that there was so much more to life than just being a “christian” and to walk where Jesus walked and have your life truly changed meant becoming nothing of yourself and everything to God. Through the next years to come did that really mean something to me. When I was between the ages of 13-16, I became very sick and because of it I had to lean completely on God. In one week, I lost almost all my strength, became allergic to 22 different foods including eggs, wheat, soy, citrus fruits and milk; body aches everywhere and the immune system of probably only 50% (which meant that if I came down with a flue or cold, instead of having it for a few days it would tarry for 3 weeks or so). At first the doctors thought that I had mono or multiple sclerosis, but after those were ruled out they couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me. It wasn’t until later on that we finally realize that I had CFS or more known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I had to learn to entrust my life to the Lord in everything. If I did not ask him for strength, then I wouldn’t have enough for the day and Mom would even have to help me up the stairs or other simple task. Though these years were the hardest years of my life, they were the best years of my life and I would never trade them. Why? God became so incredibly real to me in every way and my desire to know Him increased ever more. Even though God took so much of my life away, He gave me so much more in return. It was through this period that I learned how to play the piano and guitar and even began writing worship songs and helped lead worship with my sister at the church. I also learned to count my sufferings joy; for there were many times when I would go up for healing prayer, yet, each time I became only weaker than before. As a couple years went by and not being healed, I finally came to the point where I didn’t want God to heal me because I truly believe that He could use me so much more when I was so dependant upon Him, plus I didn’t want to face another disappointment when I wouldn’t be healed.

So in the year of 1999, a mission trip was headed off to Romania. My parents said that I could go, but the closer that it came to leaving, the weaker my physical body grew. It got to the point where my parents said that Laura (my older sister) should go in my place because how in the world would I even survive and what would I eat? But I remembered that the Lord had called me to go and I remembered His promise that He would provide every need. So I went and God did provide. I had all the strength that I needed and the whole trip was amazing. Some of the leaders believed that God did want to heal me, but I didn’t and gave them all my reasons why God wouldn’t. Finally when we arrived back in Minneapolis, MN, I told God that I was going to give Him one more chance and if He didn’t heal me, then I never wanted to ask again. Yet, God did heal me that time – though I think it was more of the daily walking by faith in believing that God healed me that’s what truly healed me.

That fall I went to public school as a Junior, and throughout the last two years I lead Youth Alive every Wednesday and was very involved with about 4 different choirs. School itself was not much of a challenge, but the whole social atmosphere was and definitely learned much about many things – a lot of things I didn’t want to know, but that’s life. Public high school was good in a lot of ways, but life was hard and I never felt like I connected with almost everyone – except I did have a lot of guy-friends and played basketball often. My Senior year was incredibly lonely and waiting for graduation to come seemed like forever, but it did and that part of my life is over. Looking back, I wonder how much I made a difference in people’s lives, but the comforting thing is knowing that God knows and He’s in control. My first year of college was attended at MSU-Bozeman for the nursing program. That year I became apart of a Christian group called Intervarsity and helped lead worship by singing and sometimes playing the keyboard. I also became involved with Campus Crusades and absolutely loved their worship and teachings. Within every dorm was a grand piano, which I would play for hours. As a Christmas gift, one friend connected me with a guy who recorded and maded CD’s, and it was then that I made my first CD with the songs that I had written. God really blessed me in a lot of ways throughout that year, but it still was hard and for the most part I still felt out of place. Even though I had not much of a social life and studied my butt off for classes, my grades were really low and the more I thought about it, the more I realized how I really didn’t want to pursue nursing. So the next year I transferred to MSU-COT- Great Falls for the Surgical Technician program.

In Great Falls, I roomed with a gal who is an absolute sweetheart and she became my best friend. We did everything together and having her in my life was such a blessing. I also became very involved with my church – whether being on the prayer team or being involved with 2 other worship teams (playing piano and singing). Two years of school went by then graduated with a 4.0 as a Surgical Technician. (For those of you who do not know what a surgical technician is one who assists the surgeon and passes instruments throughout the surgery and makes sure that he has everything that he needs). As soon as I was out of school, the main hospital hired me and I worked at Benefis for the next 2 years. Working there gave a really good foundation in my career and in all honesty, I do miss the people, the surgeons and being involved with those surgeries. So, where is my life heading now? I have signed on with a world-wide traveling medical company and will work each assignment roughly 13 weeks – or depending on how long that particular hospital needs me before I head of to the next place. I am really excited about this and considering the facts that I’m still single, traveling around the U.S. sounds like the perfect time to do it. I am excited for how the Lord is directing my paths and what my future will bring. In this next season, I know I will learn so much and be stretched in so many ways that will make me a better person. It is Christ who I live for and His will is my purpose in life.