May 29, 2018

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” –Proverbs 16:9

When I was a little girl I always dreamed of being a teacher! I would line up my Barbie dolls and make them do school work, sings songs, grade their papers, and put them in time out when they talked to much while I was teaching, an occurrence I was all too familiar with.

In high school, when I turned 15, I started working at St. Luke’s as an afternoon teacher. I would come each day after I finished at school. I loved it and couldn’t wait to show up every day and love on those precious children.

As I went through high school and as I entered college my dream never wavered – I wanted to be a teacher. I worked hard and graduated from UCO with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education as a certified k-3rd grade teacher. While I was student teaching at a school in Edmond I thought my post-graduation, plans were set- I was going to get hired on to teach at the same school, the administration had made it seem like I was set…and then it wasn’t. I never heard from them.

I never stopped working for St. Luke’s all through college. God’s always perfect timing and vision were already in process. Phil and Gaby offered me an assistant director position at St. Luke’s. This was something I had never considered, but I was willing to try.

It is now four years later and I am the Director of the Children’s Center. I still get to be a teacher, but now I interact with children and parents in ways I have never dreamed. I am so thankful to Phil and Gaby for giving me a chance in a position I never dreamed of holding, and to God for having a better vision and plan for my life than I could even imagine.

Mandi Moon, Director, St. Luke’s Children’s Center