Throughout my life, I have been through many transitions, or upgrades.
Of course, through childhood, there are many transitions as we move through elementary school, middle school & high school. Then there comes college with all of those changes and trying to invent your self into who you want to become.
Version 1.0 is what comes out of College! It is the version our parents have built for us since our birth.
Right out of college, I got my dream job. An Oracle DBA for a worldwide company. After a month being on the job, my mentor had to go home to Malaysia for a family emergency. It was just me & my manager running all of the databases and email server for the company. He returned in a month, but 8 months later decided to move home. My manager presented me with a decision: he could hire someone above me to continue to mentor me & the team or he could hire someone under me and I could step into the leadership role. Needless to say, I stepped right up to the plate and hit it out of the park! The best part of this is he moved an intern, who became my best friend and mentor in a future role, into my position. We were a great team that really made a difference in the company.
Upgrade, Version 2.0
While working, I married my husband and we decided to start a family (Upgrade, Version 2.5). My manager said I would ruin my career if I left now, how could anyone leave their dream job? But one look into my new baby girls face and it was easy, God called me to be a mom.
UPGRADE, Version 3.0!!!
There is nothing like becoming a mom, and completely responsible for a totally dependent human being. God has entrusted me and my husband to the greatest gift He has given man-kind; a new and completely unique individual, made in His image and likeness. Oh my gosh, no pressure there! Our goal of being a parent is to bring our children back to God. Not all of us will be successful, not even in the same family and upbringing, but as long as we do all that we can to plant those seeds of faith in our children is a way to bring glory to our Savior. I was given 4 of those beautiful gifts, and will share some of my successes and struggles in this blog.
Upgrade, Version 4.0
As time went by, I was fortunate to find a job where I could work from home, but those companies closed and I continued to work from home designing websites and developing web applications. In my spare time (haha), I also decided to teach 2nd grade religious education. I wanted to share my faith and grow the faith of the children in my parish and have been doing this for 9 years now. I also send a weekly e-mail to parents with a summary of what we are covering in class. I don’t just try to increase the faith of the kids, but also the parents. Many parents are so overwhelmed with all that is going on in their lives and the lives of the children, they spend little time on their own faith. This is my way of subtly growing their own faith.
Upgrade, Version 5.0
I also have been actively involved in Bible studies since my youngest was 2 years old (she is now 12). I started in Bible Study Fellowship for 7 years – this is a very in depth and detailed Bible study that takes a single book (or a couple of books) of the Bible and studies it during a school year (September through May). After completing those studies, I’ve also studied the Bible Timeline study, going all through out salvation history, Beth Moore studies and am currently leading my Bible group in a study on Mary, the Mother of God. It is an absolute requirement to stay in God’s word in order for you to know what He is calling us to do. I feel lost if I am not actively reading the Bible. I know its not for everyone, but I will share short stories about Bible verses or parables so you too can grow your faith in the Lord.
Upgrade, Version 6.0
What is to come now? I am currently working on publishing a devotional book, and a book for teens. I want to continue to grow this blog and share my faith with others. And I want to grow your faith! If even one of my stories helps you, then I’ve done my job.
Upgrade, Version 7.0+
We all go through transitions during our life, some are patches or bug fixes (moments where we fail and sin) and others are major life changes (marriage, death of a loved one, suffering). We need to make sure during each of those upgrades (minor or major), we keep the basic main programming online – our lives are for the glory of God. When it comes to programming, without upgrades or releases, a program will become stale and no longer be relevant in the new world. The same is true if we don’t upgrade our daily lives with God in mind, continually growing our faith and spirituality. It doesn’t have to be major changes – overwhelming us – but simple little things we can do daily or weekly which will change and upgrade our lives.
Don’t forget to Upgrade your Catholic Faith!