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Feature Friday

  • July 12, 2024
  • Posted by: Caitlin McCallum
  • Category: Wow Story
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Wow!  40 Years!

By Linda Schrupp

I was a new graduate with a special education degree in teaching children with hearing impairments.  I was hoping to secure a position in a classroom for students who were hearing impaired at what was then known as Lutheran School for the Deaf.  I had no idea of the journey God had planned for me.

To my dismay, there were no hearing-impaired classroom positions available.  However, I was offered a position in a self-contained classroom for children with learning disabilities.  This would require me to start my Master’s Degree sooner than I had anticipated, but looking back . . . it was all part of the plan.

After two years of teaching in that classroom, a hearing-impaired classroom position became available.  Although I enjoyed teaching children with learning disabilities, I excitedly stepped into the new classroom happy to be teaching in the field I prepared for in college.  Halfway through that school year, I became pregnant and made the decision to be a stay-at-home mom giving up my dream job.  But looking back . . . it was all part of the plan.

After three months at home, another LSEM colleague contacted me with a proposition.  She also had a baby but chose to go back to work full-time.  She realized she did not want to be away from her baby for that much of the day.  Our family finances indicated that I needed to go back to work at least part time.  A shared position was created.  We split the full-time position at Trinity Lutheran in Utica and were able to be at home with our babies the rest of the time.  This lasted for three years.  I now had experience as a resource room teacher/teacher consultant.  It was all part of the plan.

St. Stephen Lutheran School in Waterford was looking to open a Resource Room.  That just so happened to be the church we were attending.  I opened a half-day resource room there in early fall after my second child was born. Fortunately, I was still able to share my time between teaching and being home with my children.  I would end up working there for 19 years with the added blessing of working in the same school that my four children attended.  It was all part of the plan.

During the last two years of my time at St. Stephen, I had the opportunity to add another part-time position to my schedule – working at St. Matthew in Walled Lake.  It would require traveling between schools and obviously take more of my time, but Lutheran High School tuition was causing financial strain.  So, I accepted the position.  Adding this school to my schedule was not as difficult as I had feared.  I enjoyed the differences between the two schools and programs.  It was all part of the plan.

Sadly, it became apparent that my younger children and I needed to make a change and leave St. Stephen.  Having taught at St. Matthew, I knew they would thrive there. They grudgingly made the switch to a new school in their junior high years.  I also, made the heartbreaking decision to not teach at St. Stephen any longer.  Amazingly, Our Savior Lutheran School in Hartland wanted an LSEM resource room program.  This would fit perfectly with my teaching time at St. Matthew.    The timing of all of this could only have been divinely orchestrated.  I continued at these two schools for the rest of my teaching career.  It was all part of the plan.

As I look back on my career, I cannot help but see God’s hand in every aspect of my life and am humbled by several recurring thoughts.  First and foremost, that God loved me enough to have laid out this plan for me and guided me to follow it.  And also, that this plan directly affected my family in so many positive ways. Secondly, it is amazing the number of people I have had the privilege to work with at the five facilities I was at.  God’s Kingdom is full of faithful servants, and I am fortunate to be part of it.  And lastly, the students and their families.  The number is too large to count, and the memories are overwhelming.  But they all have a special place in my heart.  I can honestly say that I loved my job.  I was blessed to be part of Lutheran Special Education Ministries.  And I am so thankful for God’s guidance through this incredible journey.

So, yes, Wow!  40 Years!  It was all part of the plan!