Week 2: In the Beginning
When I tell people the full story of the journey to get to where we are today, I do realize I sound a little crazy to some.
However, the story is fact… all of it… and as crazy as it sounds, I hope to someday use my story to share of God’s providence and how I finally, at 33 years old, was able to understand the phrase, “peace that surpasses all understanding” talked about in Philippians 4:6.
In October of 2018, a friend of mine (who is extremely involved in state politics) sent me a text saying I should run for state Senate. I laughed, assuming she was joking. However, over the next few months, I continued to get texts and phone calls (from both people I knew and people I didn’t) suggesting the same. I had never considered anything other than a city council or school board position and continued to decline offers to help “connect me to the right people to help get the process started.”
Although flattered, I doubted my ability to serve in a capacity so great. In essence, I was telling God that I wasn’t interested, and for several months, I believed He had finally given up the fight.
Then, in the spring of 2019, there was some negative media attention surrounding Senate District 43 (out of respect for those involved, I am not going into details) that started up the recruiting calls and once again, I refused to believe this was my calling. That was until Monday, April 22nd, when a friend called me and said, “My family was talking about you at Easter lunch and we decided if you ever get a chance to run for a state office, you should do it!”
He had no clue what I had been being recruited to do, but God laid it on His heart to call and tell me about their lunch conversation. Ten minutes later, I pulled into my driveway and Brooks brought out his spelling words: campaign, strategy, microphone, speeches… all the words were related to politics and campaigning. I remember looking up at the sky and saying out loud, “I see what you’re doing, and I do NOT think it’s funny.” I think it was at that point where I finally realized that God wasn’t joking, but I still wasn’t ready to commit.
Six days later, Stephen and I walked into Bible class and our lesson was about King David’s moments of rest after his long journey to the throne. That day, I received the verse that would carry me through the next year and a half: “Nathan replied to the king, ‘Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.’” -2 Samuel 7:3. I remember scribbling on a piece of paper through tears and sliding it to my husband from across the table; it simply said, “I’m supposed to run.” I’ve left out many parts of the story (in order to keep within my word limit), but these stories lasted for weeks.
Each occurrence in this story is more and more unbelievable for those who don’t believe God works in this way, but each of these stories made my faith deeper than it has ever been and finally made me understand how He provides peace in a way I never knew was possible.
When people ask me to share my story, I always start with the fact that in the beginning, I wasn’t functioning with an open heart or an open mind. I wasn’t seeking His will for my life, and I sure wasn’t allowing for those He put in my path to show me His plan. However, the version of me in the beginning of this story is not anywhere close to the person I am today, and I am thankful that He never gave up on me because I know how He uses everyday, plain, ordinary people like me to do big things, if we allow for it to happen!