Isaiah 64:8, New International Version

“Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.”

I don't know about you, but I am always trying to better myself. My relationship with God, being a wife, mom and friend. To do that, I have to allow my current self to adapt, change and let God mold me into the person He wants me to be.

I was very shy as a child up until I was a young adult, which was a while ago now. I would hide behind my parents and even after I got married, I would hide behind Ben, my husband, when we would meet people. Then, Ben and I moved from Eastern Ohio to Phoenixville, PA, not far from Philadelphia. Ben was going to Valley Forge Christian College full time so that meant I had to get out in the world to get a job. That was so difficult for me. With God's help, I did it though.

I got a job, and it was in retail, so I had to talk to people. My one boss was kind of mean to me, I am not sure why, but that made things harder for me because if she was watching me I would get even more insecure and afraid to say things to the customers, or speak up for myself. That job did help break me out of my shell a bit and with God's courage I started looking for another job– a better job, where I was valued more. With God's all things are possible, right? So, He helped me get my confidence built up and I applied at a bank and got that job. Unfortunately, handling the money all day everyday caused me to get headaches, so I had to move on to another job. This job was at a daycare, and not only do you have to talk to people, but explain any issues with their kiddos that may have happened… talk about pushing me out of my comfort zone. God really gave me a way with the kiddos and parents though, I was able to develop relationships with the families and even ended up babysitting for several, and then became a nanny for a very sweet family.

I always tried to take any available chance to teach the kids about Jesus, because even if they didn't understand at the time, that little seed could make a difference later on in their life.

Ben had finally finished school and we felt God wanted us to move to the inner city of Philadelphia. Now we are country kids, so this was a huge move for us. We saw and experienced so many things, but the stories from that are for another time.

We lived in Philly for about a year and a half, helping a missionary start an Albanian Protestant Church, taught English as a second language and helped with an Albanian coffee shop. Oh, we also worked with a dying Presbyterian Church and did our best to invite the locals and share Jesus's love with them. God put us in many situations where we had to get out of our comfort zones and allow Him to change us, help us grow and learn from Him more than ever. Then moved to New Mexico to live and work at a ranch that helps teenage girls. We learned so much at the ranch. The girls would push our buttons, question us, and try to get reactions out of us, just to see what we would do. I can only say that God gave us the wisdom and patience to live and work there because we sure didn't know what we were doing. As you can probably guess, I have grown a lot by now, but I was still kind of shy. After about four or five years of working at the ranch, we had our first baby, yep, William came along. That is when I really think I started to get out of my shyness.

Being a mom does something to you, that momma bear thing, yeah, it's real. I will protect my children from anything, including speaking up to people. God gives momma's a boldness like no other! So, then we had Levi and Wyatt, and yea, after that, no issue being shy when it came to my boys. I was still and still am sometimes a bit shy and uncomfortable in a room full of people I don't know. So, what do I decide to do, start my own business, where I have to talk to people who I don't know. Like I said earlier, I continually want better myself, so I reach out to God, talk to my sweetheart and pray with Him to guide us.

I don't want to miss out on something because I am too shy or uncomfortable. I don't want my boys to miss out on something because they don't like being uncomfortable. When you allow God to make you uncomfortable, you listen and then do whatever it is you feel He wants you to do in your life. Allow Him to help you be bold and face those times of being uncomfortable with confidence and strength, because with Christ, all things are possible… according to His plan.

What do you know you need to change (or let go of) so that you can allow God to help you grow and be the person He made you to be?