As I sit in my classroom at Prepare The Way Preschool I can’t stop smiling to myself as I thank God for bringing me and our church (Allen Creek Community Church) to this point. We are actually going to open a preschool this fall!! I began teaching preschool in 1995. That is the same year my husband and I started attending Allen Creek (AC3). I LOVED being a teacher and I LOVED my church. Could these two loves be brought together?
God put it on my heart to pursue this vision about 9 years ago. I asked our church leadership what they thought of having a preschool and they liked the idea. They asked me to find out what it would take to make it happen. As I started researching, I got nervous because I had never thought of myself as an administrator. I could make lesson plans and lead circle time. I could teach 3 and 4 year olds how to have fun while they learn. But to create a school to do those things in? Yikes. I quite boldly told God “No.” I just kept saying, “I can’t do it.”
So, for about 8 years, I often said, “I wish someone would start a school at AC3. That’s where I really want to teach.” I would hear God whisper, “That’s your vision. You do it.” My answer to that every time was, “No, I can’t.” HE is so patient. J
On October 30th 2012 this is what I wrote in my journal as I was thinking about the preschool…
(God put a God sized task in front of me and at first I turned the other way. He kept putting it on my heart though and now I’m recognizing that if I have faith that God can equip me and I move forward, God will be revealed. This is not about me having a job at AC3. It’s about hearing God and doing what He has asked me to do. It’s pretty scary, but even MORE exciting.)
Since that day, I have had meetings with our church Elder’s, board, and staff. We created a preschool board, we had 2 very successful fundraising garage sales. With lots of help, we transformed a multi-purpose room into a classroom, and last week we opened registration for the September 2014-2015 school year. It has been quite a roller coaster ride that I don’t expect to end for a very long time.
So now, I spend my mornings working in my classroom at Prepare The Way Preschool, in Marysville WA at Allen Creek Community Church. I’m spending my time organizing supplies, getting documents ready for parents, and creating centers. I’m having a blast!!
WRITING CENTER
MATH AND SCIENCE CENTER
ART CENTER
CIRCLE AREA
My biggest lesson so far in this journey is this. There are things that we can’t do. But God CAN do ANYTHING. If we let him work through us, we might find ourselves living our dreams. 🙂