Thoughts of the Future

Here I am, at home in West Virginia, looking out at what we call our “mountains.” These hills will always speak of home to me. They will remind me of my childhood, of running through the trails of the arboretum, climbing to see the overlook at Cooper’s Rock, playing in my backyard, and watching the leaves turn vibrant shades of red and gold in the fall. This is where I grew up, where I can always find my family, my teammates, and many of my closest friends. 

The hills of Morgantown

In a little over four months, I will watch as these hills stretch into real mountains. I will find myself surrounded by peaks that soar nearly a mile higher than anything I am used to seeing. In a little over four months, I will watch myself step across the threshold of a Boeing 757 (most likely!) and enter a world that is completely new. I will be moving to Kandern, Germany for the next two years to be a full-time high school English teacher at an international Christian boarding school called the Black Forest Academy (BFA). 

My new "Home Among the Hills"

People have asked me how I have the courage to go so far away for such a long time. The truth is, I’m not sure if I do have the courage. I love my family, my friends, my home. I will miss them so very much when I am away. Though I am scared to leave, I know without a doubt that this the right direction for me. It is part of my growing up, my learning, my stepping out into the world to find my way.

Even more important than all of that, I know that this next step is part of God’s plan for me. It has been amazing to see how God has put the pieces together for me to go overseas to become a part of this teaching ministry. There were times when I sat at home this past year, wondering why I had yet to have a classroom of my own. Wasn’t I called to be a teacher? Hadn’t I been preparing for this career for the past 5 years of my life? Didn’t I love to teach? And yet…still no full-time job.

It is starting to make sense to me now. If I had found a full time teaching position in the fall, chances are, I wouldn’t have been ready to leave. I would have been caught up in the busyness of first year teaching and completely distracted from hearing God’s voice as he was directing me to teach at an overseas missionary school. Now that I am beginning to understand his timing, I am beginning to see how truly blessed I am. God knew exactly where he wanted me to teach—Black Forest Academy—and he knew the exact steps to help me get there.