by Caroline Plummer

All of us have endured storms in our lives, like Job. Mine struck in 2003. I guess you could call it a “double whammy,” or in Pacific Northwest terms, a “10” on the Richter scale, followed by a “10” aftershock. At age 40, my sister died an unexpected and unexplainable death, leaving three small children behind. I ended my marriage, becoming the primary parent of two young boys, with no paying job. My world, my soul, my heart collapsed.

Unlike Job, I cursed and questioned God’s existence and righteousness, while simultaneously delving into Bible Study Fellowship and daily time in God’s word (I guess I got part of it right!). Angry, depressed, beaten, hopeless… I barely kept plodding along. Yet He patiently beckoned me to expose my raw, vulnerable bundle of exploding emotions ---to the One who giveth and the One who taketh away.

I gave it all over to Him, who soothed second-by-second my overwhelming pain and every last God- spewing curse, getting me through the minutes, hours of each long day. Unlike Job, God provided me with miraculous sisters in Christ (several from my Bethany church family), who wrapped their powerful, wise, loving arms around me and breathed into me the perfect combination of comfort, counsel, acceptance, and prayer.

In complete brokenness, I began to deep, deep, deepen my relationship with my Redeemer.

As I began to know Him like never before, He nudged me: “Get to work, Caroline. Let me redeem your suffering by teaching you to teach others what you have learned. And for crying out loud, find that strong voice that I gave you when I created you and use it!“

So I got to work: facilitating the Bethany single mom’s ministry, speaking out against domestic violence both within and outside of the church community, going back to graduate school to obtain licensure as a domestic violence counselor and mental health counselor. (Did I mention mothering my two amazing boys as a single mom?)

Currently, I proudly work as a counselor at Atlantic Street Center, a 101 year-old non-profit in the Rainier Valley, serving low income families of color. With my God-given strong voice, I am talking about --and walking about --the uncomfortable and very real issues that people in poverty face in our own backyard: homelessness, young teenage mothers, STD’s, teen dating and gang violence, sexual human trafficking, and prolific drug addiction.

I’m doing this work because God has done a work of grace in my life that compels me to teach and to share. It overflows.
I love going to work every day. I love holding the babies of young teen mothers as we sit together at a coffee shop filling out their financial aid forms for school. I love witnessing my clients’ unwavering testimony of Jesus, as I drive them to their drug treatment groups. And I thank God for redeeming my storm of 2003, giving me this thirst for social justice.

Signing off for now! I’ve got work to do!