Only “See you laters”

God’s been doing some awesome stuff in my life over the past 3 years on staff with FCA, the year here, and personally in the last few months.  I’d like the chance to tell you the whole journey, but the bottom-line of it is that I have LOVED my year here, but will not be back in Cali for next school year…what’s tough also is that I’ll even be leaving FCA staff …but I’ll be returning to grad school.

To explain some: God so undeniably took me out of teaching and coaching to go on staff with FCA at Auburn because of my growing passion for college students.  I got placed at Clemson, yet walked into a difficult funding situation there that made it really hard for me to stay.  So I explored options such as working for a church and grad school at that point, but nothing panned out and Bay Area FCA unexpectedly pursued me.  So, I put my “yes” on the table, read Scripture, sought godly counsel, and gathered the facts.  The facts were: I’m 30 and single and can, there was a group of people willing to make the funding happen, and it was an opportunity to stay on staff with FCA…the ministry I LOVE!  What an adventure!

The facts have somewhat changed…with 2 really being the most important.  1- I still have that desire to pursue a degree in counseling and 2- I have a growing desire to be drivable to my family and be more a part of their lives.  So I figured to apply to a few programs that fit that bill and see what would happen.  I have since been admitted to a few programs…so I will be returning East to follow that path.

I’m not sure what the end result looks like, but this is what I DO know.  There are 3 groups I’m passionate about: 1- college students… because the decisions made now impact the trajectory of your life and you are such people of influence! 2-young women with a history of sexual abuse and/or other relational issues…you would not believe the quantity that I have gotten to walk alongside!  3- young women in leadership positions, be it sacred or secular, to stay healthy in such giving professions where burnout threatens to steal influence.  I desperately want to speak Redemption back into these lives…nothing really fires me up more!

I’m sad to be leaving Cali.  I’m rather tired of moving…but know that it’s never “goodbye”….but only “see you later” with many of you.  I also can’t believe that it comes with leaving FCA staff too.  But to sum up in one sentence…I am excited about the opportunity to be near my family while pursuing education that will enable me to further serve those populations in a way that can be a career and a ministry.  Who knows what it will practically look like?  But I do hope to serve FCA the rest of my life in some capacity.  To my Cali friends: I love you all, pray for you lots, and intend to be Him with skin on as much as He allows me in each of your lives.  Thank you so much for granting me a voice to speak into many of your lives.  I don’t take that lightly and am humbled that God would use someone such as me.

The Good Shepherd

How do you make a decision?  Put your yes on the table, ask the Good Shepherd to guide you, and check Scripture to see what it says.

Yeah, but it doesn’t say “Heads Carolina, Tails California” (shout out to all you country fans out there that actually got that).

So what do you do now?  Gather the facts (because if you actually did, you could probably make a wise decision anyways), seek Godly counsel, and look back to see how He’s led you so far.

So when I did that, my heart and emotions were torn, but all three seemed to be pointing towards moving to California.  What’s a girl to do?  Well, in my case, it has looked like selling or giving away everything, packing what I needed in my car, and relocating to the Bay Area, California.  (This tells you a little bit about the job).

I waited a week between accepting the job and announcing it because in my little human mind I figured that allowed God time to redirect me as even Paul had to be redirected at times.  That never came.  But D-day did…the day I had to start letting people at Clemson know.  I woke up, had to start a new journal because my last one had been filled the previous weekend, and opened to page 1.  It’s a great journal…it’s green…which makes it amazing by default.  But it also is the kind with pre-printed Bible verses at the bottom.  Yeah, God has a funny sense of humor…this time, His humor comforted me and left me in awe.  Hear the purposefulness of a personal God (and He feels the same way about you too!)…the verse was Psalm 23:1- “The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing.”

End of the year- a new chapter begins

What an incredible year this has been!!! Clemson is an incredible place with a ridiculous amount of ministry going on! I am floored by getting to be a part of incorporating the campus FCA with true athlete ministry. We have set several things in place that fulfill Clemson FCA’s goal of “Loving God- Loving Campus” within the arena of the athletic department! There is now an athlete ministry leadership team comprised of 20+ athletes from almost every team. They are gonna be used of God to rock their teams, the athletic department, and this campus!

As for me as an FCA staffperson, however, this has been a very abnormal year. All the other FCA staff in our area have moved on from their time with FCA. Between that movement and the economy, funding for staffing has be lacking. As I look at the ministry needs here objectively, I realize that my strengths matched the need when I arrived, I could meet the current need, but it currently would be better suited to someone else’s strengths. All of this comes together to help me in my decision to accept another position within FCA that is exciting, yet sadly would take me away from Clemson. I will be moving to the bay area (San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland) in California to serve several high schools and colleges. As the door has opened to work there, I have wrestled with the decision, realize that my strengths are needed there, and the position pursued me…all things to seriously consider. I feel blessed to get to remain with FCA as it has had such an INCREDIBLE impact on my life and countless others! I just got to attend the 2nd annual college conference as a Huddle Leader and watch 180 college athletes from across the nation get sold out and grasp their influence. Can you imagine the ripple from things like that?!?!

I’ve been asked what the job description would be…so….the area is only 4% Christian. Talk about being a missionary in your own country. Therefore, the mentality is to hit the open doors and use each staffer’s unique strengths. That means I will spend 1-2 days/week with a handful of highschools to relieve the other campus representative. My unique addition to the team is that I am female and my sport is soccer. The rest of the week would be spent with college and professional female athletes. FCA has presence on multiple college campuses in the area. Also, women’s pro soccer has launched in 6 cities, one of which is San Jose. That should tell you a little something about the soccer community there. There is still a need for the position to be fully funded and that will be a part of my job still, but I will have teamwork towards that. (If you would consider getting involved in that part, please let me know.) All this has happened so fast. I hate that I have not been able to call all of you who have been friends to me through this journey. The intention in coming to Clemson was to be there for the long haul. This doesn’t make sense, yet also makes tremendous sense all at the same time. There’s so much more I would love to share with you…please feel free to call me as I am journeying…and new posts will be coming soon!