Last week I celebrated my one year work anniversary of starting my job at the Baptist Messenger. What a year it has been!
I thought it would be fun to tell about how I came to work at the Baptist Messenger and talk about some highlights over the past year.
Where do I begin describing how much I have loved doing what I do for the past year? I have had jobs that I enjoyed prior to my job now. Specifically, the job I had before coming to the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma (BGCO) was great. However, I was working remotely out of my hometown, still in denial that I wouldn’t be moving back as soon as I had planned.
But the Lord had different plans. Casey and I got plugged into our church, First Baptist Church of Moore, where he is the college pastor, and we loved it. We built relationships with amazing people and began to feel like Oklahoma City, or more specifically Moore, was our home.
However, I wasn’t looking for another job. Like I mentioned previously, I was really happy with the job I had. But one night, my mom sent me a picture of a classified in the state publication for Baptists, the Baptist Messenger (*Sidenote* I remember seeing the Baptist Messenger on the kitchen table for practically my entire life. My parents are faithful readers, shout-out to Steve and Kathy!).
Anyway, so when my mom sent me a picture of the classified and said “Hey, this job description describes all of your attributes to a ‘T’. You should look into it,” I did it! You would be hard pressed to find someone wiser than my mom, so of course I did just what she suggested.
It turns out that I had a friend at “The Building,” what we lovingly call the BGCO, so I sent her a text and asked her how she liked it. She encouraged me to apply, and I did!
About a month later, I began my career as a writer for the Baptist Messenger. I have always loved journalism, so this was really an ideal career path that I didn’t know existed in the news world. A news job with normal hours, reporting news pertaining to Oklahoma Baptists, being able to talk about my faith around coworkers, WHAT?? If it sounds too good to be true to you, it did to me also.
But here I am, a year later, incredibly thankful that the Lord used my mom and a friend to push me toward the job that I love.
Over the past year I’ve been able to experience incredible things as a writer for the Baptist Messenger.
I got to travel to the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting and witness history in the making, as the convention as a whole denounced alt. right/racism altogether.
I was able to witness praises being lifted to the Lord coming from the mouths of an African American Choir, a Native American choir, the Oklahoma Baptist Children’s Chorus and the Singing Churchmen and ChurchWomen of Oklahoma.
I was able to interview faithful servants to the Lord who take part in seemingly small projects that are impacting the Kingdom of Christ for the better, like a 94-year-old woman crocheting plastic bags into mats for the Oklahoma City homeless.
I was able to do live-event coverage on social media of the 100 Years of Falls Creek celebration where so many notable things happened, my head might still be spinning.
I got to witness selfless Disaster Relief volunteers dropping everything and getting on a bus to Houston after Hurricane Harvey left residents devastated and their homes destroyed. Disaster Relief and all that they do will never cease to amaze me.
I got to stand alongside advocates for the unborn at the Oklahoma State Capitol for “Rose Day.”
I witnessed a woman missionary from Guerrero, Mexico begin a trek across the country on a bike for the “Finish Well Ride” to raise awareness for the elderly in Mexico who have fallen on hard times.
I got to regularly visit Falls Creek this past summer to write stories about a campground that my parents attended before I was born, and I grew up loving. Trust me, many ICEEs were consumed.
But over the past year, through all of the stories I’ve told, interviews done, pictures taken, news releases sent, social media posts made and blogs I’ve blogged, the common factor that I have enjoyed most are the people I have the privilege to work with.
They are fun to be around, crazy at times, and sometimes tensions run high—especially on days we go to press—but they are the best people I’ve worked with. Why? Because we are not only working for the common goal of producing an amazing and award winning statewide publication—but because we are working for the common goal of furthering the Kingdom of Christ and making His name known.
When you pair that with getting to do what I’m passionate about every day (except for Fridays, PRAISE THE LORD FOR A FOUR DAY WORK WEEK), never once have I ever regretted stepping out in faith and applying to work at the BGCO.
I have one question for you as you read this super gushy post if you’ve made it this far. Is today the day that a year from now you could say you stepped out in faith and the Lord granted you your heart’s desire? I say, go for it.