25 Years of Broken Dreams (Although This Is An Uplifting Post)

On my twenty-fifth birthday, I looked back on a high school goal of mine. In one of my classes, we had to make those “by this point in my life I will (fill in the blank)” and make tangible goals to reach the dream. Mine? By age twenty-five, I would own my own hair salon in Newport, Oregon. My plan was to move to the Coast and have my hair license by age twenty so I could begin building a clientele that would sustain my own salon, as I saved to make this dream possible.

This July, I hit that birthday. Let me tell you, not a single one of those goals or ambitions were accomplished! Yet, not a single part of me regrets not following my dream. First of all, it was my stubborn personality that kept that dream going for so long. The dream really should have stated, “Prove to others I can do what they said I couldn’t” because if I were to boil down a very long story, that was at the heart of this dream. I pretty much refuse to spend more than five minutes on my own hair. I don’t know what made me think I would enjoy doing other people’s hair all day long…. Clearly, God had another plan for my life. Oh praise Him for that wonderful truth!

Instead, I spent my twenty-fifth preparing to go back to Uganda to work with the Karimojong, a people group who quietly held my heart since I was fifteen. And as I prepare, I see how God has guided each step in my life to bring me to this point. Through college at Boise Bible College, serving at New Heart, and spending my year at Redeemer House, my heart truly began to beat to an African drum. I developed a deep passion for working with children, as I had the opportunity to love on the children at New Heart and Redeemer House. Being able to wrap my arms around a kid who is having a hard time, and remind them that Jesus loves them just as they are. I then had the opportunity to work at a childcare center in Boise, which provided me with more opportunities to grow my passion for kids and families.

A dear friend of mine once told me, “Anything you do with your life will bring glory to God if you allow it. But we must find what will bring Him the most glory.” This quickly became my life motto, as I seek what it is He is calling me to. For the past year, this has been my search. I prayed, fasted, and sought counsel. I felt stuck. It was then I witnessed these life experiences begin to mold together for the glory of God. He is taking these passions of my heart to blend them into a ministry which will serve Him. I have officially been accepted with Africa Inland Mission, and placed on a team to serve the Karimojong. That people group which lived quietly in my heart has quickly grown into a loud passion. My passion for kids? Oh, I know God will use that on the field, and I joyously await how this will play out.

As I look back on my first quarter of a century (stating it this way always makes me feel older than I truly am), I smile at all I have had the pleasure of being a part of. Christ has made my life into an adventure – a much less hairy adventure, but an adventure nonetheless. I often question what the high school version of me would say if I were to share how my life actually turns out! I also look forward to what is to come. My twenty-sixth birthday will be celebrated once more in a country that grabbed a large piece of my heart. Even more thrilling, it will be celebrated in the center of God’s will for my life. There is nowhere else I rather be.