I tell my nephew, Thomas, how sometimes God gives you "life packages"...like when a whole bunch of things in your life come together and, as a result, the right opportunities knock! That's happened at least twice for me....with my two loves: horses and music.
HORSES
Starting at age 12, I took riding lessons which I continued for the next 8 years. I showed locally, and finally had my dream come true when my parents bought me a horse for my high school graduation gift. Horseback riding was such a joy; I decided to pursue a minor in Equitation with hopes of passing on my enjoyment to others!
Following graduation from college, I spent some time working and studying in other parts of the country. Leaving the Bible Belt brought on a reality check, as most everyone I knew back home attended church regularly or had some type of church connection. I discovered in some areas this was an exception rather than the rule. Although I dreaded the idea of giving up my horse, I began leaning toward a career in some type of mission work, however, the first option I chose didn't materialize.
After months of wondering, waiting, praying and sensing no clear direction, the opportunity suddenly opened up for me to work for a Christian Horsemanship camp. It was seasonal, but truly a tailor made job for me, as involved absolutely ALL the things I loved and had been trained to do: working with youth, leading devotions, counseling, teaching horseback riding, and something I'd always wanted to do more of - travel. So off I went to Arizona, then to Oregon, then back again to Arizona! God knew how to put the right pieces of the puzzle together! So the first life package unfolded.
MUSIC
When my mother passed away, I moved back to Tennessee to be with my Daddy. Growing up I was fortunate enough to have had the "good kind of drug problem" - the kind where you get "drug" to church almost every time the doors open: Before I could read, my Mama taught me the Lord's Prayer, Psalm 100, the 23rd Psalm, and the Apostles' Creed. It seemed like Mama always taught Sunday School and Daddy sang in the choir. Growing up, I never could see myself doing either of those things, but suddenly here I was back in my home church, leading the youth group on Sunday mornings, (which involved singing, and playing my guitar), and enjoying it! God has quite a sense of humor! Thus began a life transition.
I guess I've always been around this music. My Daddy had played on WOPI as a teenager on the Saturday Night Jamboree. And I recall as a small child going out to Hickory Tree store on Tuesday night and thinking how much fun it would be to play along with the pickers who gathered there to jam. As a young person I remember going to the Carter Fold and watching the McLain Family kids have a good time playing traditional music, which helped make it "OK" for me, to like it and want to play it as well. In more recent years, I was blessed to have two wonderful friends/neighbors, Ralph Blizard and Bob Mize, who cared enough to encourage me to listen, learn, play, and keep playing.
A few years ago a career change landed me practically next door to ETSU. At that time, my guitar lessons fell by the wayside, but after getting a mandolin for Christmas, I again pursued lessons and began attending a slow jam. The following year, my jam leader got involved in ETSU's Bluegrass program and encouraged me to enroll in a band instruction class. This in turn lead to totally awesome mandolin lessons with the director and founder of the Bluegrass program, Jack Tottle, who I'm convinced, has the patience of Job. Thus, another stage in the second "life package" was unfolding.
So five years, countless jams, various school bands, numerous lessons, 3 gospel groups and hundreds of prayers later I look back and am amazed at how God brought me from "there to here"! The Bible talks about how God loves us so much He longs to give us over abundance what we ask. For a couple of years, I'd been praying for new pickin' opportunities, but if someone had told me back in February '08 at the Leon Kiser Tribute that the next time Gospel Grass played the Paramount (in June '08), I'd be playing with them; I would have waved it off, and said something like "In my dreams!"
I don't think a day goes by when I don't thank God for these amazingly dedicated, talented guys and wonderful opportunity to pick with them. And I'm so thankful for the encouragement my husband Scott has given me. He somehow balances work, his Lay Pastor responsibilities, continuing education, and everything from hauling equipment, chauffer duty, and running sound on many of our road trips.
I have no idea what future "life packages" might hold, but am so thankful to God for putting together the ones He has given me so far! I didn't see them coming and on the front end of them would never have imagined how many details God would piece together in developing His plans for me. I just pray for family and friends to seek out their own life packages, and think Paul's prayer for the Ephesians in 1:14-20 is a great example of how each of us can to do that in our own lives as well as in our prayers for others.
Everyone has their own God given abilities, gifts, talents, desires, hopes, and dreams. Psalms 37:4 tells us if we delight ourselves in Him, He will give us our heart's desire. And why not, He put it there to begin with, and it's never too late to start seeking. Even now, I can still visualize that little girl in her room, standing in front of the mirror, listening to records, pretending to play guitar, and singing into the back of a hairbrush. .
