all things beautiful: My dream job

I've been working on this post in my head over the past week. Today is my last day at Frazee. Reed and I decided it would be best for our family for me to take some time off in preparation for our baby girl that will be here in May. I still expect Frazee to be a big part of our lives, and I am eager to see what that looks like in the upcoming months.

There are so many details I want to include in this post: my journey into my "dream" job (God did crazy things!), different stories of kids and amazing volunteers, the many, many things I have learned... because the Lord has blessed me immensely in all of it! However, to avoid writing a novel, I tried my best to sum it up. My summary does not do justice to how much God has taught me in my time there. I am extremely thankful to God for His goodness in giving me such an amazing opportunity!

I graduated from USC with a fashion merchandising degree, and worked in the apparel industry for a year and half at a local company. To be brief, I was very thankful for it, since that was at the end of 2008 and our country was on an economic downfall. While it was a great job, it was not for me. It was my Egypt and I was making bricks, continually crying out to God. And like God with the Israelites, He heard my cry. (Praise God!) In 2010, I left the job, spent a couple of weeks preparing for a wedding, then a couple more adjusting to marriage.

I began working at the Frazee Dream Center in the fall of 2010. With no education degree or experience. The only thing was the Holy Spirit and amazing teachers (Matt & Jenny Reeve's, my brother, and the Brown's).

The Frazee Center is an after-school program, for "high-risk" kids in the downtown community. They also have a preschool program, and a summer program for all the kids. Not only that, they provide dinner, lunches, and try to meet any need in the kid's lives that come up. There is also a mentoring program that pairs each child with a mentor/mentor family. The mentoring program is the backbone to Frazee, as we are learning how important that is for changing these children's lives.

Ahh.. but that is just a small part of it. I cannot describe in words, how special that place is. It is not just a building for small, inner-city kids. It is a place where the kingdom of God meets earth. It is a place where kids get to see God's love in a tangible way. It is a place where they can learn the practical things in life, to be functional people in society. Daily we teach practical that leads to spiritual in how to: work hard, respect authority, love everyone, and forgive quickly. Isn't that what God desires?

And God let me be a small, small part of that as a "teacher" there for almost 2 years!

I have learned so much about poverty and how broken our system is.. and how we need Jesus even more. I have learned a lot about working through disciplining a child's heart and some of the emotions with that. I have learned how to train a child, over and over and over, in forgiveness and grace. I have learned how important it is to confess to children that I am not perfect, and that because Jesus forgives us, we forgive each other. I have learned how to have fun. I have learned how to have joy in small things. I have learned how to not give a kid a band-aid for every scratch or run to every crying child. I have learned that some people are crazy. I have learned how important discernment is. I have learned that the biggest needs aren't more "things", but relationships.

I'm so thankful for Mr. Matt and Mrs. Jenny, for their obedience to God in starting the Frazee center. I've learned an unbelievable amount from them! They are an inspiration to Reed and I, in mostly how fun they are! :) Thankful for Alise and Gresham, for their patience and guidance. They are also an inspiration! And my brother Kory, who despite being a full time student at Furman, continues to work at Frazee. He has taught me tons during my time there.

I am thankful for all the wonderful volunteers who help make Frazee what it is. I'm super thankful for the ones in my class, and their patience with me and the kids.

I could keep going.

but I will stop for now...