"When You are ready, Your Teachers Will Show-Up"

These words were spoken by a visiting pastor from Canada one night while I was sitting in church. Back then, I had no clue how profound and meaningful these words would become
in my life.........

At the ripe age of 30+, the desire of my heart was to return to school and finish what I started many years ago. I was a little frightened considering the length of time I had been away from school and the student I had been when I was last there. I knew that I would be among Generation "Next" as I like to call them and God only knows what else I was going to encounter.
This moment of brilliance occured right on the eve of my finding out that the company that I work for was getting bought out. Well you know what they say "When it rains.....". I decided that if I was going to do it, I was going all the way. No half-stepping. I decided to take on a virtual full load right out the gate. Did I mention that I work full-time? So with my heart beating wildly and my back-pack on my shoulder, I entered the hallowed halls of acadamia.

What a rush!!!! I was ready, and my teachers showed up. Now when I say teachers, I'm not just referring to those who stood in front of the class, I'm also referring to the ones who sat in the class. College is like the Grand Central Station of life! You can meet just about anbody from anywhere and each person has a story to tell. If you are willing to listen, the story contains a lesson. If you commit the lesson to heart, you find some of the answers to the questions that you thought only you had. I got the chance to meet people who were like the "me" that I was 10 years ago. I got to tell them the things that I wish someone had told me back then. I got the opportunity to help a few souls find their way back home and get some clarity on exactly where
I am going.

Like in my Intro to Religion class, one of the students put it out that he had experimented with acid and other substances, in an attempt to find God or what he believed God to be. At the end of the class, I went to him and hugged him and told him that I was glad that he had survived those experiments and that I hoped that he would eventually find what he was looking for. His story stirred compassion in me as I know what it is to feel and or be lost and want someone to care and not condemn. In my Intro to Sociolgy class, the professor ended up being on of the baddest chicks I had ever met in my life! She turned 60 during the spring semester and the chick shows no signs of slowing down. She encouraged all of us to weigh whatever options life presented us, make a choice, and boldly stand by our decision. Here is a person who is slowly but surely coming to the end of their rainbow and is tickled pink about the gold pieces that they discovered along the way. I want to be somewhat like her as I grow up!

I was ready. My teachers showed up. I am ready. My teachers are still showing up.

As my kick-butt Sociology professor would say, "My brain is fully engaged". My heart is constantly expanding to make room for those to whom I am connecting. I went back to school to get educated. I'm coming out an evolved spirit.

I was ready. My teachers showed up. I am ready. My teachers are still showing up