my anchored life:

When I was a little girl, there were only two things I wanted to be when I grew up.

Sure, I went through a few phases here and there.  With my long hair wound into 2 tight buns, I ran around the neighborhood as Princess Leia wielding my lightsaber and blaster {which were really just a yellow wiffle ball bat and my dad’s caulking gun because it was the 80’s and we used our imaginations back then}. My red, white, and blue jump rope/lasso-of-truth was coiled up at my side whenever I wore my Wonder Woman underoos because no one knew my secret identity except me and my mother.   And then there was the time I announced to my entire graduating PRESCHOOL class that I was going to be “Daisy Duke” when I grew up (we won’t even discuss why a 4 year old was watching a show about moonshine bootleggers on probation who continually broke the law and ran from the cops. Clearly, my parents had questionable judgement when it came to television programming 😉).

But for most of my life I only ever wanted to be two things:  a teacher and a mother.

To this day, if I close my eyes, I can still see my very first classroom.  I remember how I had carefully arranged the desks and decorated the bulletin boards.  I remember the sound of the bell ringing and how the whole room seemed to smell like dry erase markers.  I still know the names of some of my former students and I am even friends with a handful of them on Facebook.

But, 14 years ago, I walked away from my career as a teacher to pursue my other passion: my family.  I threw myself wholeheartedly into being a full-time homemaker/stay-at-home-mom to four incredibly resilient kids who roll with the punches military life often brings. My presence in our home has provided stability and constancy for them in a life that has been filled various TDYs, deployments, moves, transitions, and changes.  Five years ago we added in homeschooling.  Even though filling all of these roles has demanded much more of me than I ever expected,  I can honestly say that not one single time in the past 14 years have I ever once regretted my decision to leave the classroom.

Lately, however, my husband has been encouraging me to do something new.  He’s been gently pushing me outside of my homeschool-mom comfort zone to pursue my very own ‘next.’  A ‘next’ that would allow me to use my talents and gifts for people outside the walls of our home.  At first, I just assumed I’d go back to teaching.  I still love teenagers.  I still love teaching.

But then I discovered coaching.

I’ll spare you all the details about how this whole thing just kinda fell into my lap.  But suffice it to say that when my husband first approached me with the idea I’m pretty sure I laughed out loud and said something sarcastic.  I flashed back to the Gilmore Girls–Paris and her life coach setting up her crafting corner and arguing over the hot glue gun.  I didn’t even know what ‘life coaching’ was, but I was sure it wasn’t for me.  And I promptly blew him off.

But not really.

Because secretly I started researching and reading everything I could find about coaching.  I talked to people who are actively coaching and before I knew what was happening, this vague, fuzzy idea of ‘life coaching’ began taking shape.  The longer I mulled around this idea, the more I felt the Lord drawing me.  And the closer He drew me, the clearer the vision became.

So, I did a crazy, wild, courageous thing.  I went back to school.  Despite the fact that I’m still homeschooling two of our kids, right in the middle of all my responsibilities, and straight through my husband’s TDY’s.  I filled out the application, paid my tuition, and ordered my books.  For the past 4 months, I spent late nights and weekends reading, studying, and meeting in online conference calls to practice in labs.  I woke up early on Monday mornings for bonus labs with students from other classes.  At 6am on Thursdays, I logged on to our webinar with coffee in one hand and my books in the other.  I connected with classmates that I now consider friends and as the weeks went by, we became coaches. And three weeks ago, we graduated!!

Now here I am: A fully-educated, ready-to-launch-my-very-own-business coach.  Ready to step into a career I never dreamed of as a child, but fully confident that every single moment of my life has been perfectly orchestrated by God to lead me here.   As I look back, I can’t help but notice all the ways He’s prepared me for this–all the changes, all the transitions, all the peaks and valleys I’ve walked through.  I see every digging-deep moment where I had to unlock my treasure chests of courage, faith, and hope in order to embrace the unknown.  And I remember all the people I had to borrow these treasures from when mine were in short supply.  I can recall all the lessons I learned along the way and I absolutely cannot wait to help other people do the same.

From the handful of people I’ve already coached, I can honestly say that every time they have an “aha” moment in a session, I get that familiar, rewarding feeling of helping someone discover the potential that God has placed within them.  Every time I pick up the phone for a coaching call, it’s like I’m having coffee with a friend.  No matter how far apart we are, it feels like we are sitting across the table from one another; talking, listening, and working together to make their dreams a reality.

Coaching is like teaching–only completely different.  Better.  It’s about giving people a space to talk, dig, explore, and expand their vision for their own lives.  It’s about creating a space where they are free to voice their dreams, goals, and fears.  Coaching allows me to challenge people by asking them tough questions and enables me to give them the gift of being heard.

Maybe I’m not saving the galaxy like Leia or fighting bad guys like Diana and I certainly don’t have Daisy’s legs-for-days.  But what I do have is a vision for my future and the desire to make a difference in the lives of every client who calls me, “coach.”

And I’m 100% certain this is exactly what God intended.