About Me

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I've been married to my husband, Michael, for almost 25 years. I'm a mom to a biological son and an adopted son from Colombia, and I'm also a spiritual mom to my adopted son's older brother, who I claim as a son in my heart. I'm bilingual and love to work with and relate to Spanish-speaking children and families. I've been a teacher to students from all sorts of backgrounds and cultures for the last 20+ years. I'm also an author and a certified Biblical counselor. I'm in a new empty nest season in a new location far from where I raised my boys, so I'm definitely in a stage of rediscovering myself, my interests, and my purpose.

Surviving the Valley Series

Surviving the Valley Series
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Sunday, June 12, 2022

Nature Calls

(Wrote this a month or so ago for my writer's group as a way to announce our new adventure)

When you hear the phrase “nature calls”, you tend to think someone needs to find a restroom pretty quickly. But, no, I am not looking for a bathroom at the moment. I’m actually referring to the way God used a famous poem in Scripture to beckon me to follow Him onto a nature trail that is about to change my life. 

    I’ve always loved nature. I grew up in a rural community in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where you’d find Amish and Mennonite farms on nearly every corner. I remember going on long walks or bike rides with my mom and brothers on all the country roads that surrounded our neighborhood, stopping to pick wildflowers, pick an apple from a tree, or dip our toes in the river flowing under an old, covered bridge. We spent many Friday evenings at the local farmer’s market, and we followed horse and buggies to school each morning. I guess you could say I’m a country girl at heart.   

    As I grew up and took an interest in writing and other quiet, creative activities, I found myself drawn to all types of peaceful outdoor landscapes. A gentle stream. A flowing river. A still pond. Sunrises and sunsets. I joined the cross-country team in high school and found that I loved running courses on trails through the woods because I could just think and breathe in the silence and tranquility. Today my front porch is my favorite “room” of my house, and I can easily spend hours each morning sitting outside just listening to the birds sing, talking to God, writing in a journal, reading a book, or scribbling some poetry. Nature just inspires me in so many ways. 

    While the world stood still and we all put our lives on pause during the COVID shutdown, I spent a lot of hours either on my bike exploring nature trails with my son or soaking in books and Bible studies out on my front porch. I found a study on Psalm 23 and quickly fell in love with the poetry within the chapter. The words spoke deeply to me and drew me in in a way they’d never done before. I committed the chapter to memory as I’d done as a child, but this time with a much more intimate and personal understanding of the relationship between a shepherd and his sheep. I printed out a Scriptural prayer that the author of this particular study had written (Jennifer Rothschild), and I began to pray it every day over myself and other friends. One of my favorite lines said,”I need rest in green pastures and refreshment from still waters. Lead me there, and I will follow.” 

    As the world began to open up and both teachers and students returned to school, it didn’t take long before I tested positive for COVID. Within a week, I found myself sicker and weaker than I’d ever felt before. With so many people dying, I feared for my life, especially when just getting out of bed to go to the bathroom left me as winded as if I’d jogged a mile. My family thought I was exaggerating, and though I did have to see a doctor twelve days in, I finally began to recover by the end of the third week. I went back to work for a few days, thinking I could take it easy, but the trauma of teaching that year proved more than I could handle. 

    I spent the next six months in and out of doctors’ offices, experimenting with medicines to control a racing heartbeat, extreme anxiety, and uncharacteristically high blood pressure. All while trying to teach in an impossible scenario without all the tools necessary to do the job well. It was like watching a train wreck happen, every single day. When the end of the school year came, I wanted to run away and hide from the world. A short summer awaited me, and I found myself naturally escaping on my bike every single morning, headed to the closest nature trail. I stopped to take pictures of every different kind of wildflower I passed, and I sat at the edge of the pond often to reflect and pray. That nature trail helped me heal. The green pastures I rode by gave me a place to rest my mind, and the still waters refreshed my soul and spirit. I really struggled as the summer came to a close, knowing I would no longer be able to start my days riding that beautiful nature trail. 

Thankfully, enough exercise mixed with the right dose of new medications brought my heart rate and blood pressure down to normal limits, along with keeping the anxiety at bay. School calmed down a bit, making teaching more manageable than the year before, but the support that used to be there suddenly didn’t exist. You’re on your own, and the expectations are higher now. Teaching post-COVID doesn’t look or feel at all like it used to, and the joy isn’t found as easily as before. I could sense God giving me permission to consider finding something else, something either more ministry based or at least working in a smaller setting with a smaller group of students. 

Then we visited my in-laws in Indiana, where my country-boy-at-heart husband grew up, and the natural outdoor landscape started to call. A prime opportunity beckoned him, working side-by-side in business with his brother, doing what they are both naturally good at. Would I consider it? Or at least pray about it?

At first I laughed at the thought and even got angry at my husband for such a consideration. But without me knowing, he started to pray, “God, if we’re supposed to go, please draw Rachelle there on her own.” 


It didn’t take long for the dominoes to start falling. First a random trip to the library led a perfect stranger to strike up a conversation with my sister-in-law, Chrissy, leading to a conversation about a local Christian children’s home, New Song Mission, in need of a teacher. She inquired further and then sent me a website describing a job my heart has interestingly longed for, one I felt very uniquely qualified for. A joint ministry and teaching opportunity, working in a small setting with a small group, sitting on one hundred acres of land. Green pastures. Still waters. Trees, woods, nature trails, and a quiet pond with a picnic table sitting right outside the classroom. 

A wise counselor said, “Take a few days to fast and pray over it. If this is God leading, he will give you a real sense of peace.”

As I prayed, these lines jumped out at me. “I need rest in green pastures and refreshment from still waters. Lead me there, and I will follow.”

Thus began my own inquiry, followed by a zoom interview, and eventually a drive back up to Indiana to see for myself and interview in person. As we drove along the winding, scenic road toward the campus, I felt such peace in my heart. After sitting at the long kitchen table with a cup of hot coffee in my hand as I “interviewed” for the vacant teacher position over the next hour, I glanced out the window at the natural landscape all around me. I couldn’t deny God’s tug on my heart. 

I knew.  

Nature calls. “Lead me there, God. I will follow.”

10 comments:

  1. Rachelle, I think this is wonderful. I'll be interested in following your story.

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    1. Oops, I didn't mean to publish as anonymous.😊

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  2. What an amazing blessing! And listening to the Holy Spirit too! Your work is not done, simply be done in a different location.

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  3. I love that you are following God’s path!! He will do great things through you!!!

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  4. Wow!! This is wonderful, thank you for sharing. You will be missed here!! This is Angela Gutierrez, it wouldn't change from anonymous.

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  5. My dear sister….I feel like my prodigal daughter is coming home!!! This is wonderful news!!! Can’t wait to have chai with my dear friend. This sounds like the perfect place for you!!! ❤️

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  6. Wow. You will be missed but God knows what is the perfect place for you and where you are needed most. Indiana is where my son Miguel is studying. Hugs and God keeps blessings all of you.

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    1. I did not add my name: Sandra Dávila: Miguel and Andrés’ mom). You will be always in my heart.

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