When I graduated high school five years ago, I never would've imagined myself sitting where I am today. In fact, I would've told you that my life would be quite the opposite.
So let me take you back to the beginning. High school Leah seemingly had everything figured out for her life—she would graduate high school, attend college and study elementary education, graduate in 4 years, marry her high school sweetheart, start her first teaching job in one of the Carolinas, and begin establishing that white picket fence middle-class American life. However, my God had a very different plan. One in which none of these things has happened. Well, I guess I did actually graduate high school and college, but that's about it.
I made the college search way more complicated than it needed to be because I was obsessing over the need to follow God’s perfect will for my life. I was afraid I would mess it up somehow, but I also wanted to have everything planned out to T before making any decisions. Those two things aren’t synonymous, so I wrongly began attributing my will to God's will.
But God was still working in me and leading me despite my unknown running. He allowed me to go on my first short-term cross-cultural mission trip to the Philippines. This trip rocked my world. God showed me His power in ways I never saw before. I got to share the gospel, share my testimony, and see people come to know the hope that is only found in Jesus. On this trip, I thought about the possibility of doing missions, but didn’t make any serious considerations about it since it didn’t fit in with “the plan”.
After much struggle I, thankfully, made it to college; however, I had no idea what the Lord had in store for changing my heart and posture towards Him for His glory.
I ended up really unhappy with my original college decision, which was the first of many ways God has shown me that my plans are not always His plans. Ultimately, I transferred.
My sophomore year I began school at Grove City College. I continued as an elementary education major but added special education to appear more marketable. I quickly realized that while the classes were at least more challenging, I didn’t actually want to go them. So, I decided to tweak the direction I was going to middle level math and science and elementary education. I didn’t want to do anything drastic that would change the image I had of my future self.
At this point in my life, if you would have asked me about my relationship with God, I would’ve told you that it was solid. However, truly, I wasn’t walking too closely with Him. I believe this is why I was so narrow-mind about my future plans.
Because of my lukewarm spirit towards God, He made it clear He wanted my full attention, and I finally started surrendering to Him. Not on my own doing, but thanks to His steadfastness and pursuit of me.
My junior year started normal and quickly came an end. I began experiencing extreme fatigue, muscle soreness, joint pain, anxiety, and depression. Long story short, I went home for fall break and didn’t come back to college until the next year. I found out I had Lyme disease, and my body had been fighting it for approximately 6 or 7 years. That’s a completely different story, but here’s how God used it.
He finally had my attention. I couldn’t look to anything or anyone else because most days I couldn’t find the strength to even get out of bed. I needed Him to show up for me every day and to show me the reason for living. I was weak and broken and hurting, but through this time I found a lot of spiritual and physical healing. God became more real to me than ever. His words became vital to my everyday living. The expectations I had for my life were shattered, and He began reshaping my ideas of how I was to live.
Because of fighting this disease, I became interested in knowing more about what was biologically wrong with my body. God rekindled my interest in science, and I returned to school in the fall as a biology education major. I found a new passion for understanding the intricacies of the human body, but I still wanted to have the assurance of a clear job outcome by being a teacher.
After the fall semester I decided to drop education, which left the window of opportunities after college wide open. What in the world did I want to do with this passion of mine? What could I do? It felt like I just chose to the scariest thing that I never thought I would do—choose a major without a clear career path.
There are so many options for what I could do after graduating with my biology degree. I had considered several different grad school programs, thought about trying to find work in a hospital, or get a decent paying job not in my field at all.
When COVID hit and I was sent home from college, I had a lot more time to think about possible career paths. I spent a bulk of my time researching possible next steps, but nothing interested me enough. God put on my heart again to look into midterm missions programs. If nothing traditional looked fulfilling, how could I “go wrong” sharing the gospel for a few months/years? I found a few programs, but none of them seemed like ones I wanted to be a part of for various reasons. So, I shelved the idea hoping God would lead me in another direction.
Throughout the fall semester of my senior year, I continued thinking about the possibility of missions, even considering a similar opportunity in the states, but didn’t take any action on it. During the winter of my senior year, I was in quarantine, which meant I had a lot of time to myself with little distractions. It was the perfect opportunity for God to get my attention. A book I was reading for class had briefly mentioned missions and cross-cultural experience. When I read this, I finally realized this is what I needed to do, and I began to research programs more seriously.
I finally found GoCorps! It was such a great opportunity. Go overseas for 2 years (learn the language, learn the culture, build relationships, grow in faith), use my degree in biology, and share the gospel with the lost. I knew I needed to take the next step and reach out to them to start the conversation about becoming a Goer, but I was scared.
I began praying over and over for faith to take the first step. After a week or so of praying, God made it clear that faith requires trust in what we cannot see, and what I couldn’t see was where God was going to take me through GoCorps. So, with faith and help of the Lord I filled out an inquiry form.
Once connected with my mobilizer coach, she showed me a placement in Southeast Asia teaching medical English to graduate students and medical residents. I was hesitant to jump on this chance of going to Southeast Asia. I didn’t necessarily want to go to Southeast Asia, but as I learned more about the vision, mission, and values of my sending organization and met the full-time staff, I knew this is where God wanted me to be. My passions (education and healthcare) so specifically align with this ministry, and I am really excited to see how God continues to work in my life and the lives of those I meet over these next couple of years.
Recently, one of my favorite artists Chris Renzema came out with a new album. The song “Old Dreams” speaks to my feelings of letting go of my past dreams and hopes of my life, but rejoicing in the newness and provision of God’s new plans for me. Click below to give it a listen.