I am not a fan of being in the spotlight. I prefer to stay in the background; I am completely content with helping others be the best they can be, both in my professional life and personally. So how did I end up the host of a podcast dedicated to sharing stories of how God has helped people? Good question. It is all because of Isaiah 41:10 and how God gave me the strength to step out of my comfort zone and create an online space for his love to be shared.
The Path to Pathed – an origin story
The story begins ten years ago when I designed a fundraiser t-shirt for a friend of a friend who had breast cancer. All funds would go to the American Cancer Society. The t-shirt was purchased by people all over America, including myself. But more about that later.
Fast forward to the beginning of the school year in November and my decision to become a volunteer at my local church. I asked the Youth Director where he needed me to be, and he replied that I could help teach the junior and senior students that would be off to college soon about apologetics. Umm, is there something else, anything? I am not very good at speaking in front of a class. He assured me it would be fine; I would just be assisting the existing teacher.
I can be an assistant who doesn’t teach, I thought, so okay, was my reply, see you next Sunday. God didn’t want me to assist; however, he had other plans. A couple of weeks in, the lead teacher needed to be excused for a family event. He asked me to teach a class on evangelism.
I didn’t know anything about evangelism, I didn’t know where to even start. But then I got sick, and the class had to be canceled. The following week, I was out of town camping with my family. In the third week, we were both back to class. I apologized for having to skip class because of sickness. He told, hey, it’s ok because you get to teach it next week while I’m gone. Can you cover for me again? I went home and prayed:
“Okay, God, if I have ever evangelized anyone, show me soon so that I won’t be stressing out about it from now till Sunday.”
The very next day, I had arranged for my children to have a play date with a friend, and typically, she would come to my house, but on a whim, I suggested we meet at a café next to a park instead. She agreed, and while the kids played, I told her about the class I had to teach and how worried I was. She suggested that before I went home again, I should come with her to her mother’s house, five minutes away from where I had chosen for us to meet that day. Sure, but why, I asked. Because my mother knows all about evangelism and will be able to help you prepare for your class, was her reply.
I arrived home that evening, feeling better about facing my fears, knowing I now had the perfect book to base the class on – The one thing you can’t do in heaven. Before I sat down to read it, however, I picked up a devotional my husband had found when he was in the attic looking for something else and had, on a whim, decided to bring it downstairs. I opened it up to the day’s date; it began with:
Learn to appreciate difficult days; be stimulated by the challenges you encounter along your way. As you journey through rough terrain with me, gain confidence from your knowledge that together, we can handle anything.
And it ended with Isaiah 41:10. I knew then and there that Sunday’s class would be okay. How did I know this? Because it was the same verse, I had designed a t-shirt for all those years ago. And when you listen to the full story, you will also understand how God answered my prayer and gave me the strength I needed to teach those students and step out from behind the scenes and share his love for others through this podcast.