God’s Path to New Song

Six years ago, when I was junior in high school, I painted the garage of House B on New Song’s campus with a work team from church. While touring the campus that day I thought, “working at New Song would be my dream job.” My logical brain almost immediately countered with, “The timing would never work out. I’m still too young and I don’t even know what I want my vocation to be. Too bad.” But God had bigger plans than my own logic could imagine.

In my senior year of high school I decided that God was calling me to become an educator. I enrolled in Geneva College near Pittsburg, thinking I’d probably never move back to Indiana. Last March, during my final semester at Geneva, I received a text from a friend that read, “New Song Mission is looking to hire someone in a teaching position. Thought you might be interested.”

God’s big plan for me has prevailed. I met my new students for the very first time at New Song’s end-of-summer field day celebration in July. The girls and I were eager and anxious to meet each other that day, but the newness didn’t stop a few of them from dousing me with a bucket of water during the field day games. I began suspecting that I would really like my new job.

I had the chance to observe the classroom toward the end of New Song’s summer term. I loved learning about Jazmin, Lauryn, Jessica, Julie, and Alexa. We had opportunities to eat together, learn together, play games in the van, and even huddle together in the pouring rain at the Indiana State Fair. God was already working in our hearts to grow a connection that is invaluable in the classroom.

I then began planning in earnest. Long meetings, long hours decorating, long notes scrawled in my planner all contributed to answering the questions that define a classroom:

• How will I find out what my students’ strengths and weaknesses are, and what strategies will I use to meet their needs?
• How will I manage the online learning schedule and add classroom instruction in collaborative, hands-on learning style?
• How will I establish a caring, team-oriented, supportive, and Christ-honoring atmosphere in our classroom?

It is now the first day of the fall semester of school. Today, I sit at my classroom desk, awed by God’s wonderful grace and the process and path He used in bringing me to New Song Mission.

Article written by Lindsey McCracken