If you came here, you want to know more about what made me want to find peace. This may be more than you want to know, but since you’re here, I’ll share!
My History
Since stone walls mingled with sidewalks in my early years, I developed a love for history that drew me to antiques markets, auctions, classrooms, and my own family history. In exploring my story, I discovered I come from a “very Virginian family” who made their way in America after arriving on a ship in the 1600’s.
My love of stories stirred my curiosity about my heritage. I found my story isn’t chiseled in marble alongside great figures or beside a preserved cabin on a highway. Instead, I uncovered a rotten reputation. Previous generations carved out a legacy of emptiness. Alcohol, anger, and abuse littered our history. Without divine intervention, I would’ve followed in those same footsteps, adding my own emptiness to the family mix.
A Turning Point
But God changed my course. My own small family reached a desperate place, so God sent someone to reach out with insight and gentleness. Her initiative and kindness led us to life-changing truth and a turning point in our ways of living and dying without peace. My parents were discipled by people who became friends, and they taught us what it means to follow God’s plan for peace.
I learned about a story with greater power over my life than my past. Despite our way of life, God promises, “Where sin (that’s rejecting God’s ways) abounded, grace (that’s receiving something we don’t deserve) abounded much more,” (Rom. 5:20). God’s offer to outdo our rotten reputation went back further than our landing in pre-Revolutionary Virginia. This truth about God’s grace was pivotal for me.
My family passed on few heirlooms, but when my parents asked Jesus to be the Leader of their lives, they began a new legacy. I came to understand how Jesus could take away my personal history of living apart from Him, making me His own child, and giving me a greater inheritance. Instead of life with despair, the life and love of Jesus mean I can live with peace.
A New Story
As part of God’s story for me, He provided godly mentors and a godly (adventure-loving) mate. God took me to Cedarville University, where I was blessed to be mentored and influenced by godly leaders. That’s where I met my husband. The pages of our story together include church work, cross-cultural work in varied countries, leadership opportunities, and working with people in all stages of their faith journeys. We have a love for teaching God’s Word and seeing it produce lives reflecting God’s peace.
We have two young adult children who bring us great joy and motivate us to be faithful in living our new legacy. We may not leave heirlooms, but I hope our story will show we lived the peaceful life God wants us to know.
In my free time, you may find me staring at a roadside historical marker, having coffee, planting herbs, lingering in a used bookstore, or packing for travel. I never start a morning without giving thanks for the peace I’ve gained and opportunities to give it to others.
