Let me bring you back 34 years ago........October 19, 1966 at 12:15 am......A 17 1/2 inch, 6 pound 15 ounce baby girl born at Branson Hospital in North York,Ontario(a suburb of Toronto)...that is how I started in this world.
I am the only girl in the middle of 4 brothers.....and all 5 of us are all within 8 years of each other. I give my parents all the credit for raising 5 pretty somewhat normal kids. My Dad was in the Canadian Airforce when I was growing up so we moved a few times....lets see....I was born in North York...from there we went to Ottawa when I was 1...my younger brother was born there....then we went to Inuvik North West Territories when I was I think 19 months old...my youngest brother was born there. Let me pause there and let you in on a little something...........let me share about our trip from Ottawa to Inuvik. My dad had to go there before us...... so here is my 26 yr. old mother traveling with 4 kids 8 and under and 3 months pregnant with the fifth......WOW....she gets on the plane with all of us and my brother is drawn to a lumberjack........a sweet lady helps with my older brother....that leaves my mother with an airsick child(yup...that one would be me)and my 8 month old brother sleeping on a pillow at my mothers feet.....oh ya....can't forget the other member of our family in the cargo bay.......that would be our dog Candy. How my mother ever did it I will never know.....no wonder she went grey early....sorry Mom.....but that trait she passed on to her daughter..hehehehehe. After Inuvik we went to Trenton Ontario when I was 3 and finally at 7 we moved to North Bay, Ontario where my parents still live now. I was never into sports as a child....did try soccer for a season....but as you know seasons come and seasons go...LOL. But I was into Girl Guides....started as a brownie.......then a girl guide......then a pathfinder.......and now am a Girl Guide Leader. I was also into
4-H for a few years.........that was a fun way to stay out of trouble....but wait.....this is me...I always find ways to get into trouble...hehe
This brings me to 16 years old.....through a friend I started going to church....I needed a focus on my life and that was it....started going to Sunday school. Becoming involved in the Youth group....I still remember my leader Greg.....he never stopped believing in me....always made me feel like I was someone who mattered. We were at a youth retreat and he came up to me and right then and there asked me if I had accepted Christ as my Savior...I really didn't understand what he meant.......I thought that since I went to church that that meant yes.....so I told him yes. That night I laid there in bed.........pondering what he asked me...then I saw a light.....a bright light and words in my heart.........right there I accepted Jesus in my heart.......I have never turned back. In high school I became involved in ISCF(Inter School Christian Fellowship) and going to as many retreats and camps as I could. I couldn't get enough......I met so many people over the years.....I graduated from high school in 1985 and moved to Toronto to become a nanny for a family there.
A year later I ventured off to Bible school. I attended the Baptist Leadership Education Centre, which is a year long course.......from personal development, bible study, music, dorm life it was an experience I will never forget.....I grew a lot that year. I also got baptized while at the school.... what a blessing that was.
After BLEC I moved to Windsor, Ontario where I live now......it was hard moving so far from my family but that is where I felt God was leading me. It took me a bit to find a job that was for me but after almost 2 years I found it...and now almost 13 years later I am still there. I work at a call center for a Tour Operator.....what a great job... anyone that knows me knows how much I like the telephone. God bless you Alexander Graham Bell !
Now I get to talk on the phone and travel to places and do things I never thought possible.....like flying from trees and riding horseback in Costa Rica....or swinging from a trapeze in Jamaica.
This now brings you to the present.....well almost.....last April I really felt like something was missing in my life and wasn't sure exactly what it was......I got on my computer one night and was just surfing away and found a Christian chat room and was hooked.
I have met so many, many truly blessed people who I am forever grateful. One thing led to another and I became further involved. August of 2000 I was hospitalized and throughout my stay several people from the chat room called to let me know they were praying for me and thinking of me. I was overwhelmed by this.... I truly felt the most loved I have ever felt. It is hard to explain to someone who really doesn't understand what being online means to me. All I know is without it I would not be here today. Praise God, I know that whatever is going on in my life I can go online and find someone to talk to.
Well that is me in a nut shell.....and Oh! what a nut shell it is
Many, many blessings in the Lord |
