LIFE-CHANGING TRANSFORMATION

 

“There are times in our lives when the right words spoken at the right moment can transform us.  They challenge us at a crossroads, carry us through times of sorrow, or dare us to action.”

Don’t know who said this, but the message was tailor-made at one very important juncture in my life. I had this experience when I was beginning my junior year at Brigham Young University in 1966.

I had always wanted to be a high school English teacher.  But the Teacher Education 301B class I took that semester, which was supposed to be the magical OPEN SESAME to that dream, crushed my long-held goal.  I didn’t like the class.  And THAT is a mild statement!  I HATED the class! 

It was full of “student measurements”, Maeger Objectives, which was totally off-base with what I thought an English teacher was supposed to do—teach literature and grammar—the loves of my academic life.  By mid-term I was doing poorly.  That was bad enough, but my family, my roommates (it seemed like everyone) were pushing for me to “certify to be a teacher anyway” so I would have something to “fall back on” if I didn’t get a job somewhere else.  That sounded awful.

But even worse was a series of situations which arose just prior to the visit my professor had scheduled because of my mid-term grade.  By the time I got to Professor Holder’s office, I was already in a bad spot.  So, when he said, “I perceive you are not happy in this class,” I started to bawl.  A flood of tears. Loud sniffles.  Runny nose. Smeared mascara.  Yet Professor Holder simply opened his desk drawer, put a box of tissues in front of me and said, “When you are finished, we’ll talk.”  He even sent his TA to class to tell the students there would be no class that day.

After I was able to pull myself together, I explained the squeeze I was feeling from my own change of mind and the push from well-meaning others who were encouraging me to just forge ahead.  I expected him to give me the same pep talk.  Instead, he told me if I couldn’t be the kind of teacher I wanted my children to have, "then DON’T be a teacher."

At last!  Permission to go a different direction which I confided to him was an interest in libraries.  He encouraged me with the right words when I was at a crossroads—dared me to action—and my life was transformed. 

The rest is history.  I still kept my English major, but I completed a Library Science minor instead of Secondary Education, graduated in May 1968, moved to Denver the end of August that year with no job prospect but I still came out on top.

Within two days of arriving in Denver, I had found an apartment and snagged a job as a Library Assistant at one of three Bibliographical Centers for Research in the country.  In addition to those major obstacles, by the time two weeks was over I had met my first husband Ross, became the organist for my congregation, and was well on my way to the great life in store for me which included a half dozen outstanding kids, experiences all over the world, and much satisfaction because of the change in my direction that fall day in 1966. 

All because of the Lord’s hand guiding me along the way—even though I didn’t give Him enough credit until much later.  I was sooo oblivious to His laser-like assistance through every step.  But now I can’t even imagine how my life might have turned out if I’d had to do all the orchestrating on my own. 

That was a very memorable and significant time the Lord’s hand was in my life.  I am eternally grateful for all those blessings!

LIFE-CHANGING TRANSFORMATION INDEED....