I feel truly blessed that through my faith God has blessed me to live a life of abundant miracles.

Miracle #1 – Family

Admittedly, God blessed me with a family that was grounded in Christian principles and love.  Everything my parents did was out of love for their family. I have two brothers, and they are my prince charming and my best friend.  I would not be who I am today if it were not for my family.

Miracle #2 – Perseverance

I was born with an abundance of perseverance.  Nothing came easy to me, but I was always in it for the long run and I always felt a winner at the end.  PERSEVERANCE is something that has stayed with me throughout my life.  Through my faith in God, I knew to hang on and find the rainbow in every cloud.

Miracle #3 – Mentors

The first mentors that I remember were in high school. There were two teachers and a coach that was very instrumental in my life.  It was these mentors that set the stage for my future.  They were able to see in me things that I did not see in myself.  These mentors were able to stretch me academically, they gave me experiences abroad and taught me the importance of leadership.   I continue to seek out mentors in my life today.  It is imperative that we continue to learn from others throughout our life.

I had an 8th grade English teacher who for some crazy reason believed I belonged in honors English (believe me, it was in no way obvious that I belonged there.  It was more likely that it was an error!).  I am not sure why I feel this way, but I think that moving to an honors English class changed my life forever.  It strengthened my belief that I could succeed in something that I felt I had no talent.

I was in 9th-grade honors English with a teacher who outwardly looked VERY strict or stern.  But, who is a very kind and fun person when you are not her student!  She set the bar high for her students and expected them to reach those goals.  Honestly, I could hardly get through the first lines of some of the books I had to read.  They made no sense to me and I could hardly make any analogies.   Somehow I earned decent grades that year in English.  A miracle for sure!

It was that year that I developed an ability to start thinking outside the box.  Much of that credit goes to my English teacher.  After her class, I had more confidence in school.  Which resulted in better grades and more comprehension of the material.

Miracle #4 – College

Despite the fact that I was in college prep courses now, I had no desire to go to college.  I didn’t feel a need to go away to school, study more, or participate in college life.  My parents and counselor encouraged me to apply to three schools.  I did and went to visit both Ohio State and Bowling Green State University (BGSU).  I went to see the synchronized swimming program at Ohio State, but I knew that if I participated in that program 5 hours a day, I would not pass my classes.  I was not a strong enough student.

I chose BGSU because it was familiar and my brother was attending that university.  That is where I met one of my mentors, the Dean of the College of Home Economics.  She provided me with opportunities and opened my eyes to so many different careers.  She encouraged me to continue to earn my master’s degree.  I taught high school for one year, then returned to school for my master’s and Ph.D.   Never would that have been my path in life without believing in something greater.  My schooling is a definite miracle!

Miracle #5 – Work

Someone once said to me, “You are so lucky that you have always loved your jobs”.  I did not say this to the person, but I have not allowed myself to be anything but happy with my job.  I never really cared about the product or the place, I cared about the people I worked with and for.  I asked for God’s guidance and followed the opportunity that presented itself.

I passed up many opportunities, opportunities that I thought were right for me.  Always to follow the path that God provided.  I spent a year teaching at a rural school in Ohio.  I loved teaching but just felt that I had another path to follow.

After graduating from the University of Missouri, I thought I would be working at a university, getting tenure, and going into administration.  Not exactly!  I was offered a position in business with a major apparel company.  The position was for $24K and was located at one of the TV shopping networks.  I took the position despite the fact that I could have made twice as much teaching at a university.   I believed I would be a stronger teacher if I had business experience.

After getting out into the world of business, I could not get enough of that world.  I worked for numerous different apparel companies mostly in the manufacturing or design end of the business.  I found my niche to be operations.  As time progressed, I found that I was closing down many of the apparel manufacturing operations.  Closing down companies was not fun.  I decided to change my field and ended up as director of the Big Brother Big Sister (BBBS) Foundation in Boston.

Although it seemed like a large change in direction, BBBS utilized my operations skills and provided me with an opportunity to learn from a diverse and very knowledgeable board of directors.  My husband died suddenly and I had some decisions to make.  I loved my job and the people I worked with but I also had my children to consider.  After a year, I decided to resign and move back to Cleveland.

BBBS asked me to stay on remotely for a short time.  I found that I enjoyed and was productive working from home.  But I was not sure what I might do.  I was asked to be a direct marketing consultant.  I have to be honest, it was the last thing I wanted to do or say that I did.  Not because it is a bad career.  The income potential is fabulous.  But because I went to school for 9 years.  Why would I go to school for 9 years to be a direct marketing consultant?  By the way, there are VERY successful consultants with Ph.D’s.  It was simply not something I wanted to do.  I followed my path, and became a direct marketing consultant, and I am grateful for all that I learned.

In hindsight, I also knew that I needed a Ph.D. for security later in my life.  I taught at Kent State University College of Business when my children were younger.

Listening to what is meant to be instead of what you want is not always the easiest path, but it has led me to things much greater than I could have dreamed.

To be continued next week, blog #18.

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