Mapping Out Footprints

Several weeks ago, I was talking with a previous colleague/friend, and we were talking about Ethan....and that led to me talking about autism. She made a comment that has stuck with me. She said, "It's amazing to see how God has led you to this point in your life." She continued to explain that she had just finished up a bible study where they mapped out their "footprints" in their life, and she said it was interesting to see how God uses our past experiences for our future. And that got me thinking.....what are the footprints that have led me to this point? So, I mapped out my own footprints...and she was right. God has been preparing me for this moment in time ALL of my life. Chills. I needed to break this up into parts because it is very lengthy. But stay with me because it is eerie how God has been preparing me my whole life for "such a time as this." And my hope is you will see the same thing in your own lives.....


Footprint #1 - As a child, I grew up with a fun, sweet & wonderfully ornery great-aunt. She was so much fun to play games with or hang out with....I just loved her. Even though she was about 50 years older than me, she was a great playmate. You see, she had Down Syndrome, so she enjoyed the child-like games that my cousins & I played.....and we loved having her join us. Man, could that girl make us laugh! She would make up games to play, read us her devotions, tell us make-believe stories, and so on. As a child, I knew that she was different, and I eventually came to understand what Down Syndrome clinically meant......but that NEVER changed how I felt about her. I still loved her & wanted her to play with us. She went to Heaven a few years ago, but she will FOREVER hold a place in my heart.

Footprint #2 - When I first went to college, my major was Business Administration. Well, after my first Econ class and a brutal Accounting class, I decided that this was NOT for me. So, I switched my major to my next choice, Elementary Education. I loved it. It was a perfect fit. During my four years of study, I was only required to take ONE special education class. It did require some clinical hours which meant that I would go to the nearby school & observe the special education program. Because of the large enrollment of students in the program as well as time available, my clinical hours were spent to observe the after school program computer lab. Not much to observe. So, here I graduated with a four year degree in elementary education, and had NO CLUE of special education or accommodations or modifications or ANYTHING! But I was okay with that at the time because I wasn't planning on going into the special needs field. I have always believed that it takes a person with that preference....similar to choosing to teach high school students or elementary students......and that was not my preference. I would leave it up to the special education teachers.