Following God’s Plans and Purposes for my Life! My Mom’s Inspiring Hope Story

My Mom is truly an inspiration in my life! She is the eternal optimist, always able to see the silver lining in the challenges that can happen in life. She is the ultimate encourager and has always been “FOR ME.” This has been such a blessing to me over the years! In fact, her positive attitude and bright outlook on life have encouraged me to step out in faith and believe in miracles. When someone believes in your potential and encourages you to “Go for It,” you often stretch outside of your comfort zone, way beyond where you normally might have settled in life. This is the legacy that my Mom has given me, the ability to believe the best and to always look for the rainbows in the storms of life.

My Mom’s positive attitude and belief in the best have served her well in life. In every opportunity that God placed before her, she has trusted His plan for her life and in doing so has experienced incredible adventures with Him!

I can’t think of a more perfect example than my Mom’s to model after, it’s short and sweet, but it’s very simple. Love God, love his people, encourage them, look on the bright side, and most of all trust in His plans and purposes for your life every step of the way. This is the story of my Mom’s life! Enjoy!

Mom’s Inspiring Hope Story

When I was young, I loved being around children. I was twelve years old when I decided I would go to college to be a teacher. I graduated from Kansas State and sure enough I had a teaching degree. Twenty-five years later, I knew teaching was gift God had given me. Encouraging people was also something I loved to do.

I retired from teaching in 2000. People would ask me what I was going to do if I wasn’t teaching. I knew God would show me what I was to do next. It was then that Jerry (my husband) and I decided to start Camp Grandbear at our Prairie Wind Farm. Our Grandchildren and their cousins were all over the country. We asked their parents to come with the “Grands” to the farm. That was the start of Camp Grandbear, our hoping to leave a Godly Legacy by letting all the family know each other better. God had a hand in helping us to encourage and teach our family. We have been doing Camp Grandbear for thirteen years now.

Jerry and I loved meeting and greeting new people. We were asked to help start a Greeter Program at Fellowship Bible Church. This program was a labor of love for us. God brought us just the right people we needed to make this program a success.

God also led us to a Marriage Ministry at our church. We had gifts to share after almost fifty years of marriage. We loved to share encouraging words and stories. This ministry has been a blessing to both of us. The couples we have mentored are giving us hope for the future generations of our country.

On my journey with God, I found out that I had Parkinson’s. This was definitely not something I had expected, but God is walking this path with me. He has sent just the right people to help me navigate this unexpected twist in my life. My family has been wonderful and very loving. My son even said, “ So Mom, your earthly body has temporary Parkinson’s, but your Heavenly body will be perfect.” Hearing him speak this truth into my life has helped me to focus on what I CAN do, instead of what I can’t do. I can still write, so I have chosen to write personal cards to welcome people that come to our church.

I know that with God all things are possible. I can still do my teaching and encouraging other’s with God’s help. I am truly BLESSED!