"For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be got through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life."
I don't know who wrote this thought. I saved it as an idea for a blog entry even though I haven't felt this way for a long time. But I do own the idea that obstacles are our life and that we need to just get past worrying about it. My obstacles have been mostly self-imposed. First, I got married instead of going to college. But in my generation college was not as important. We were better educated in public school in that era. I had four years of Latin, learned to write and was a math wizard. Didn't realize how well those attributes would serve me in later life. Whatever I did, I knew I could do it and do it well.
Second, each new interest was an opportunity. I joined Junior Women's Club in Rossville and continued in that organization to become a state officer after we moved to Moline. Barely of age to drink, I led a county-wide discussion for the White House on the needs of children. I can't remember how that came to me, but it started me on the path toward working for children's causes all my life! I raised my three kids and became a great square dancer with Marvin. He was hot in a cowboy hat and boots!
Third, we loved our lives together but we moved from small rural town to the Quad-Cities in 1969. Marvin packed all our belongings and the family in a big truck. We stopped in Champaign with the cash for the new car that I then drove, with kids, the rest of the way to Moline.With work at the Bullock office, Marvin's new position as a mill manager, and new friends and lots of fun ... all was well. No obstacles, right?
I had left the church in Rossville, led by a conservative fundamentalist pastor that I could no longer tolerate. He kept trying to tell me about his marriage problems as a way to get close to me. From the pulpit I heard no answers, just rules. No guidance and lots of obstacles to serving God. A man named Carl Ericson removed the obstacles and we became Presbyterians after moving to the farm in 1972 and where I still live. There I led the charge to open a public library in Sherrard. One day a woman came in with an opportunity that would change my life. I became a correspondent, then reporter, then editor for The Dispatch. In 1990, I crossed the street to marketing at a local hospital and worked in that field until I retired in 2000. Since then I've helped found the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Mississippi Valley and Spring Forward Learning Center and still serve on those boards. I also have been active with the Presbytery of Great Rivers for many years, serving in various capacities.
By facing all obstacles that I encountered, whether they be personal relationships or professional challenges, I've made my life what it is with the help of God. Through each crisis, most not told herein, I've turned to God for support and guidances. There's been failures and successes. I believe that with the grace of God I'm still on a journey. And that's enough to keep me moving, obstacles or no!
