Our engagement pictureBefore we married, and for several years immediately following (pre-kids), I worked as a pediatric speech-language pathologist. Right out of graduate school, I enjoyed a dream job, working in a clinic with kids who didn't qualify for services through their local school district but still really needed a bit of therapy to boost their speech and language skills. The pay was minimal - perhaps because the work was not difficult, the job was sort of cushy, and it was a non-profit. I decided I needed to earn more money, anyway, so I followed my good friend into the world of home health.
Home health pediatric services paid well. I worked for two different companies, some hours in clients' homes, some hours in a classroom clinic setting. The money flowed in. But every night, every night, I hid on the old burber carpet in my 70's-esque kitchen behind the cabinets, and prayed that God would help me get through the next day of work. The pay was great - but the hours and the demands were tough. Some homes were so dirty, you hated to sit on the floor...and the kids were filthier than the floor. And yet they needed me. And their parents probably did too. More than I realized at the time, but more than I could give, considering my age and lack of wisdom. But the perfectionist in me - and the program I worked for itself - demanded progress, even when parents didn't follow through. And some parents followed through so intensely that I was intimidated beyond my experience and abilities...I was in over my head. And I needed strength. Every day.
God provided.
A few years later, I prepared to give birth to my own two children. I didn't know it then, but I do truly believe those years of struggle as a speech language pathologist - and the strength God delivered to me, that I literally begged for, would prove vital. Beyond measure or even what I can express. It paved the way for me to know how to pray daily for strength. Most certainly in different ways now versus then.
God continues to provide.
