I grew up in a small town in Virginia in a pentecostal church, with a good praying mother and a father who only came to know Christ at the end of his life. My life has taken me from that small town to college, through law school and several bar exams, and a legal career. My husband and I permanently settled in Washington State about 18 years ago, where we currently live with our two boys, who are 14 and 11. I left the legal profession six years ago, intending to take a short break and return to a new job. However, unknown to me at that time, God had other plans.

God recently called me into women’s ministry, although I am unsure of what that actually means. Having spent my entire adulthood either practicing law or preparing to return to practice, it came as a complete shock to me that God had different plans for my life. It just didn’t make sense! I had all that education, great professional mentors along the way, good legal jobs, and I was licensed to practice law in four states. Being an attorney was my identity; it was my calling (or so I thought) and I enjoyed it. Surely, it was God’s plan for me to be an attorney! After all, why would I have to go through all that stress and put in all of that hard work toward that goal, if I wasn’t going to have a long and successful legal career? Well, it was not until God called me into women’s ministry that I realized that while I thought my education and professional experiences were preparing me to be an effective attorney, God was actually preparing me for something greater. He was preparing me to be an Ambassador for Him. He was preparing me to share my story and all that God has done in my life with others. Although, I still have thoughts of going back to work, God has made it very clear that I cannot do what He has called me to do in that environment. It is up to Him whether I will ever return to the practice of law, but whatever His decision, I shall be obedient to His direction.