Dumb Luck and Good Timing

My devotional is late getting out today. It is almost 6 p.m. My entire day has been spent in a conference listening to a variety of perspectives on the issues which are currently facing our local and state policy makers. In other words, I have been having a blast.

Oftentimes people who visit my office ask me how I came to be in this position. My off the cuff answer is, "dumb luck and good timing." The truth is, and I am always mindful of it, is that the Lord orchestrated my steps to bring me to this time and this position. He did it long before I recognized or understood His purposes for me in this realm.

In the beginning . . . I was just a mom. The schools were giving my children a test and would not let me see a copy of it. That offended every sensibility in me, so the quest was on to find out why. It also triggered my first attendance at a school board meeting.

Having left the issue unresolved, the Lord moved our family from Houston to Austin. The education problem was a state issue, not a local issue. Not knowing anybody else, I joined a group of like-minded parents to try to change the issue. They convinced me to run for the school board. Meeting residency requirements by only 10 days and running against the incumbent board president guaranteed my certain loss. Except for that God thing. No one was more surprised than I when, after the votes were counted, I found I had won the election. Praise the Lord!

During the same period of time, still having time on my hands, I volunteered for the Texas Conservative Coalition, the conservative caucus in the Texas House of Representatives. In the beginning, my forte was making the coffee. But, our executive director was caffeine driven, so that was a critical skill set. As time went on, my passion for parental rights, individual liberties, and conservative principles in general surfaced. To my surprise, I discovered the Lord had naturally wired me with some pretty special policy skills. For one, issues to me are black and white. (No that is not a racial slur.) It is just that on principled issues, it is not difficult for me to sort through all the extraneous information and identify the particular principle in play. I can read legislation and it is as if my eyes will immediately go to the problem areas. It took a while for me to understand that this is just a gift.

Fast forward a few years and my volunteer time turned into a part-time then full-time job. I went from making coffee to reading legislation and writing reports and eventually ended up as executive director of the organization. It was the coolest job I ever had.

But, there came a time when God's grace for that position was removed and it was time to leave. That's when Rep. Corte suggested I work for him as his policy advisor. He tells me I am not paid to agree with him, but to advise him. My husband says that's a good thing because I would be so unemployed if I were paid to just agree with someone.

And, that pretty much brings me up to the policy conference today. I count it all joy that the Lord allows me to come to an office and do exactly what I love to do and call it work. They even pay me! What more could I ask for?

Oh, and by the way, in 1995 we amended the Texas Education Code so that parents could see those tests.

The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; thy steadfast love, O Lord, endures for ever. Psalms 135:8