This is the story of my journey north - or south - depending upon how you look at things!I love telling stories of times when God so clearly reveals Himself, there are no doubts as to the direction I should go. This is the case of my journey to Prestonwood Christian Academy North.
From 2000-2005, I had the privilege of serving as the Lower School Principal of PCA. It was a very blessed time in my career. I came to Prestonwood Christian Academy in the third year of the school's history. PCA was still a small school. At the time, our school was still at the original location at Hillcrest and Arapaho. Dr. Larry Taylor, Head of School, also came in 2000 and the school was blessed with both physical and spiritual growth in a short time span. I had the privilege of helping with planning and moving to the current PCA Plano Lower School location in Plano. It was there I learned about sharing space with a church, being a part of rapid growth, and how important it is to be a part of the church and school community. I thought I would be at PCA forever.
Here's a throwback picture of the ribbon cutting for the Lower School building at the Plano campus.
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| I love this picture and the memory of this day. Also, it is incredibly special I am standing between Dr. Taylor and Mrs. Dana Epperson, now Assistant Head of School for Academics. Prestonwood legends, Sondra Sonders, Mike Buster, and Pastor Jack Graham are also in the picture. I love the fact that the more things change - the more they can stay the same! |
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| Paige Deleon and me - both with kindergarten students who presented gifts to our first ever PCA graduating seniors. To this day, the tradition of kindergarten students presenting a gift to the graduating class still stands! |
I was happily serving as principal at PCA when God totally surprised me with another plan.
Read more about my personal journey under the "A Bit About Me" tab.
Nine years ago, this native Texan moved to Oklahoma. I absolutely fell in love with Oklahoma! Edmond, Oklahoma to be exact. It is a great suburb - just north of Oklahoma City. God placed me at Oklahoma Christian School as their Elementary Principal. This was a blessed, blessed time in my life and career. I have some "forever friends" in Oklahoma. Three of my four grown children live in the Oklahoma City area and, again, I thought I would be there forever.
But - God had another plan! Do you see a theme here..."God had another plan..." I love that in my 50's God is still surprising me with His plans for my life, lest I start thinking I can run things my way!
In October of 2013, I received a call from the administration at PCA telling me about the new PCA North campus opening in Prosper. When asked if I might be interested in moving back to Texas and helping with the campus start-up, my answer was a swift, "No....I'm good....I'm comfortable." Ha! Comfortable. I'm not sure "comfortable" is biblical, but I was in my comfort zone - having gone through growing pains with the OCS. We had reached our maximum capacity. The elementary had grown over 30% in the past three years. Most of the kinks of carpool flow and scheduling had been worked out. I had families I loved and who loved me. I had students I remembered being born. I really felt a part of the community. And - the staff? Oh my...amazing! The turnover with the staff and families was very low so we really were able to establish our curriculum and culture - building upon the previous years. I had been at Oklahoma Christian School for nine years, and it felt like home.
Anyway, "Thank you, but no thank you, PCA. I was comfortable."
I'm going to be totally transparent here - because that is how I am! After a few phone calls back and forth with PCA, I was asked if I would pray about the decision. Pray about it? Did I need to pray about it? I was content! And, my kids were in the Oklahoma City area. My job had become "easy." Truly tough days were few and far between. I loved Edmond. Now that I look back on this whole experience, I'm so ashamed to say I didn't immediately pray about this decision. I was just so sure I would retire from Oklahoma Christian School, I didn't even take time to pray about such an important question.
So - what are you going to say when someone asks you to pray about something? Of course, I would pray about it, but I was already fairly certain of the answer! Well...prayer has a way of aligning our desires to God's will.
First of all, my sweet husband, Ken, was telling me I shouldn't be saying 'no' so quickly. God had prepared Ken a few months before for a move. He had been talking about a job change and a possible move, but I was going..."la...la...la..." and covering my ears. Was he crazy?
Anyway, I began praying. The more I prayed, the clearer things became. I couldn't really discuss this with anyone other than a very few trusted friends, but I asked them to pray.
In November, my husband and I came to Texas. We visited Prestonwood North. I can't describe the feeling. I kept looking into the faces of children and wondering..."Will you be one of our students?" It is difficult to describe the feeling both Ken and I felt - how we immediately felt at home. My husband, a country boy at heart leaned over and whispered, "Do you notice more men have on cowboy boots than don't?"
During this trip, I sat down and talked with Dr. Larry Taylor. We each asked each other tough questions and were totally transparent with each other. I knew the challenge ahead, but I also had come to understand I was "called." Yes - I felt God's calling on my life to help begin this new work.
I was as shocked as anyone!
And so - this is the very condensed version of my journey to PCA North. During the year, I will share more specific things God used to help me discern His will. I will share in the hope that God will use my journey to help others as they discern His will for their lives.
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