My heart

     I am learning so much about my heart lately. I took at job about a year ago at the Oregon state hospital as a teacher. I know Crazy right? No pun intended. I NEVER EVER EVER thought that I would be working here. My degree is in elementary education and I love kids, so when I applied I thought there was a fat chance in hell that I would even get an interview, yet here I am 1 week away from a year later and LOVING IT! I knew that if God opened up this door for me there was a reason and I needed to trust that and trust me that has been hard. There have been quite a few moments when I thought "What the heck am I doing here?" 
     In the past I never had an interest in working with at risk populations. I didn't want a teaching job at a low income school ( I know that sounds horrible), one of my student teaching experiences changed my perspective on this, I wouldn't take sub jobs in resource rooms because I was scared I wouldn't know what to do. And here I am today working with a huge population of people at risk that have committed some pretty heinous things. And God is teaching me sooo much! He is teaching me that I have a huge heart for this type of population. That there is nothing someone can do that falls outside of his realm of grace and if I am even able to convey a little bit of that grace daily then that is awesome! Even though part of this process has been painful and stretching me in new ways I am so thankful for the opportunity to open up my mind and heart and learn about this community of mental illness. This is quickly growing to be something that is very near and dear to my heart.
   It really is amazing when you walk through a door that God has opened with complete faith that he knows what he is doing. The possibilities are endless!