09/30/2026
Last month, I had the honor of stepping into one of my favorite roles — speaker — for in Colorado Springs (thank you .k.green & for the invite!). I spoke to teachers from all campuses on Finding Your Why: The Eternal Impact of Christian Education.
For a long time, I wondered if my years in the classroom, as a middle school counselor, or as a youth advocate would ever matter beyond the walls I was in.
Those years were some of the hardest of my life — genuinely traumatic at times, requiring personal therapy to process. I remember thinking: even if this means something, it'll only ever mean something to the handful of people who crossed my path back then, or witnessed it. No one else will ever know. And that's okay, because that was never the point.
I wrote my presentation on a solitary camping trip, and then, standing on that stage, I watched God weave every one of those hard seasons into something bigger than I could've imagined.
The class that nearly broke me.
The years I didn't think I'd survive.
The students I fought for when no one else would.
Ducking for cover when things got out of control.
None of it was wasted. It was preparation.
That's what I want other people to hear: the chapters that feel the most isolating and thankless, the ones where you watch your dreams get tossed to the wind — those are often exactly what God will use to strengthen someone else's community down the road.
As I spoke to a room full of , I saw head nods, understanding, tears. They knew I got it, because I had lived it too.
You don't get to see the full picture while you're in it. I didn't either. But it's there. God's using it. It's not wasted.
Speaking is something I've done for years and love — and something I hope to do more of. I'd love to keep using my story to help others in education, counseling, and ministry see their hardest seasons not as wasted time, but as exactly what God will use to bring their communities out stronger. If you're in a season that's asking too much of you, leading a team through one, or looking for a speaker who can meet your people where they are — let's connect.
