20 Years and Counting…

The year was 1998. It was a good year. It was full of changes for me. I had only been married for 3 years. We moved from my hometown of Antioch, IL to the great Lansing, MI. It was exciting, but also stressful for me. I missed my family dearly, and I needed to find a new job.

Because I already had enough stress with the move, I did not want a stressful job. I wanted a nice little easy job in a corner doing data entry – something very low stress.

When I came in for my interview for what was then the Foundation for Traditional Values, the first thing I saw was a wall calendar with all kinds of crazy writing in red, green, and blue marker. I knew right then that this job wasn’t going to be easy or without at least a little stress.

But I felt led to it. I don’t know why. The ad that I saw in the newspaper (yes, I said newspaper) was as tiny as you could get. All it said was “Christian Organization needs help,” or something like that. But I was drawn to it.

I applied, and here I am 20 years later! I was right. The job hasn’t been easy. It hasn’t been no stress. (No stress would be boring anyway.) But it has been the best thing I could have done. We have students say that SSI was the best thing their parents ever made me do. Well this is the best thing that God ever made me do.

I have been able to utilize my skills as a detail oriented person to keep the organization in good financial standing. I am the person behind the scenes making sure we keep the lights on and that we are staying on budget. It is a huge responsibility. One that I take seriously as the financial well-being of the organization is largely based on the work that I provide. You wouldn’t think that prayers are needed over working with spreadsheets, but I have prayed many times over working on budgets and financial needs. Nothing in SSI is done without the Lord’s favor, and he has graciously helped me be one small part in this thing called SSI.

I have loved to hear the testimonies that have been given over the years. I am so grateful to be a part of it. God has given me the ability to keep track of the behind the scenes things that keeps SSI running. I love to see how God has brought our team together each with the talents needed to make it work.

Let’s see where He takes us next!