I posted back in November about my future plans and where I felt God leading me. In an update to that post... I AM A STUDENT IN THE SOCIAL WORK GRADUATE PROGRAM!!
And a little insight into this calling...
I know that every life experience
we have will help us identify in some way to a client we may have in the
future. I know God has a reason for everything we go through in our lives. I
will admit I was embarrassed to know I have been working in the flooring
industry for two years now and most of my classmates have been working in areas
related to their intended careers. However, as I look back on the last ten
years of my life and think of all the countries I've traveled through and all
of the organizations I've worked with, I realize I've been surrounded by my own
personal “social work” experiences. In Canada, I worked with a Philippine church;
in Europe we talked with veterans as they remembered the 61st
anniversary of D-Day. In Brazil, we volunteered with college students on their
perspective campuses and gave "Free Hugs" to anyone who would accept. In India, I met and
talked with many women who had been kidnapped, raped, and sold into sex trafficking. In Haiti, I've been to countless villages and seen the
destruction from the earthquake. I've seen the devastating path of poverty that
nearly every family is bound to travel. I've hugged, bathed, rocked, and fed
many orphans and shown them individual love and care while I weep knowing they
fight for the attention of their two caregivers along with 25 other children.
They cry at night when they have bad dreams and when their tiny tummies are
growling with the pains of hunger. I've been there to help ease that pain. I
have been blessed with these many opportunities to travel and serve the least
of these, but I go in Jesus’ name. Nothing "Ansley" can do will "fix" any problem. I go because I am commanded to go (Matthew 28:19-20). I go because we are instructed to care for widows and orphans in their distress (James 1:27). By God's grace, I am set free! Because I can do nothing to save myself, I am compelled to share with others of His grace and mercy!! I feel God’s guidance so strongly when it
comes to this field, and I know I am exactly where I am meant to be.
I have been working with diverse
populations most of my life and this is the area where I am most interested. I
always think of The Legend of the Starfish and it is not my vision to help the
world, but rather make a difference in the life of one person at a time. I will
leave you with this poem:
A
man was walking along a beach upon which thousands of starfish had been washed
up. Left on the sand by the receding tide the starfish were certain to die as
the sun dried them out. The man also saw a boy picking up starfish and flinging
them back into the sea. Planning to teach the boy a little lesson in common
sense, the man walked up to the boy and said, "I have been watching what
you are doing, son. You have a good heart, and I know you mean well, but do you
realize how many beaches there are around here and how many starfish are dying
on every beach every day? Surely such an industrious and kind hearted boy such
as yourself could find something better to do with your time. Do you really
think that what you are doing is going to make a difference?" The boy
looked up at the man, and then he looked down at a starfish by his feet. He
picked up the starfish, and as he gently tossed it back into the ocean, he
said, "It makes a difference to that one." ~Author Unknown
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