"Why would you move to Nebraska?" That's always the first question I get when people learn that I'm originally from Lake Charles, Louisiana. What they don't know is that while my Cajun roots are strong, I moved 23 times growing up, and Nebraska just happened to be the last stop along the way. It was here that I became an adult, married my high school sweetheart, and brought seven beautiful children into the world.
The follow-up question is usually something like, "Why stay in Nebraska?" or "Why not follow your family?" My answer is simple: God has blessed me abundantly in Nebraska.
My home life was very unstable growing up. At 17 years old, I ran away from home and spent time on the very same streets of Lincoln as some of the clients I greet with a smile in the lobby here at CSS every day.
God blessed me with a best friend who became my husband of 12 years. God blessed me with my children. God blessed me with dear friends who have become my chosen family, surrounding me with love and helping instill in me a deep love for my Catholic faith. God blessed me with the opportunity to be part of this outstanding organization.
My heart overflows with gratitude for the joy I have already experienced during my time at CSS. I am truly blessed to help ensure the safety and well-being of each and every "Little Blessing" entrusted to our care at Little Blessings Child Care of Catholic Social Services.
I want to share with everyone around me the many blessings I have received here in Nebraska—the beauty of the Catholic faith, the gift of family, stability, education, love, and hope in the good life.
I want every child in our care to experience these blessings, not only after reaching adulthood, but from the very beginning of their lives. It is my mission to ensure that every child feels loved, valued, and secure from the moment they walk through our doors.
This is one of the reasons I have embraced my role at CSS with such enthusiasm. It is also why we will be raising our child care age limit to five years old. It is important to me that the toddlers in our care have the opportunity to continue their Catholic education with us. It is equally important that if there is a child who needs us and we have the ability to care for them, we do so.
According to the Baltimore Catechism, "Hope is the virtue by which we firmly trust that God... will, in His mercy, give us eternal happiness and the means to obtain it." What does hope in the good life mean to me? It means that here in Nebraska, 1,000 miles from where I was born, I can say with complete certainty that God is moving. He is working. He is calling us. He is pouring out His blessings, bringing people from every background and every hardship toward eternal happiness and giving them the means to obtain it.
That is the hope I have found in Nebraska. It is the hope I pray every child and every family who walks through our doors will come to know as well.
