
After a career change, Karen Estep realized that trusting God to guide our next steps can be scary — but in the end, He helps make it OK.
This year I made the decision to leave a well-paying job at a public school to a job at a Catholic high school, resulting in a significant pay cut for my family. However, six weeks into school I'm convinced it was probably the best decision I could have made for my life right now.
I'm not a fan of change
Change is inevitable in life, and typically I hate it. I get into my comfort zone and just want to hang out there and not change. I don’t really love it when the seasons change; if it could be autumn forever, I would be happy. I’m also at the age when if they change where things are in the grocery store it can throw my whole mood awry, all because the ice cream is in a new area. However, this change, going from public to private school, has been just what my soul needed.
Now, if I am being honest, six weeks before school started when I started getting the “Welcome Back to School” emails, I started to feel panic. Was I making the wrong choice? Why had I not applied to more jobs outside of education? Why had none of those “outside of education dream jobs” worked out? Would anyone at this new school even like me?
The first part of August rolled around and I dragged myself into my first meeting. I did not have any of the above questions answered, but what I did have was a sense of calm. I was in the right place and I was going to be OK.
This change has been good
The most amazing part of my job now is getting paid to attend worship. Every school day begins and ends in prayer, as well as prayers in each class throughout the day. As a school, we go to Mass once a week. The students read the Scriptures, the student choir leads the liturgy music, and it is all so beautiful. We have another optional Mass once a week for students and staff and then we have Mass as just a faculty once a month.
Sprinkled in with that, there are opportunities to go to Adoration and learn from our campus ministers. There were days in the public school when I was afraid if I wore a cross it might offend some students, and now I pray and worship with my students all day long. It truly amazes me that this is part of my job now!
Another exciting thing that has happened recently is that Catholic speaker Paul J. Kim came to speak to our students. Paul shared Catholic pick-up lines, beat boxing, and life lessons with the students. I made my students write him thank you notes, and I was blown away with what these students had written to Paul. The coolest part that the students even wrote about that happened during Paul’s speech was the prayer at the end of his speech.
Paul invited the students to pray with him and while praying imagine themselves in the gym all by themselves. Then he asked the students to imagine Jesus coming to meet them where they are ... and when I tell you that the Holy Spirit was moving, the Holy Spirit was truly moving. I could see the movement on all of the students’ faces as they were in prayer and imagining Jesus wrapping His arms around them.
Seeing all of those students, some of them mine, taking that time to pray and learn and come to Jesus was so beautiful. If the Holy Spirit is represented by fire, the gym that day was ablaze. That can happen in public schools BUT as a teacher that could not share my faith (which I 100% agree that sharing faith in a public school is inappropriate), it probably would not have happened for me. I am grateful I got to see that and amazed still that seeing the Holy Spirit physically move is a part of my job.
Are there days when I still wonder if I have made the right decision? Absolutely. Are there days when I question why this was the next right step for me? Absolutely. However, this change has brought about some great things. The best part about this change is being able to worship with my colleagues and my students. There are some changes my family had to make in order to accommodate the income change; however, worshiping with my students and teaching them about our wonderful God and how much He loves them is worth more than gold.
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Copyright 2024 Karen Estep
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About the Author

Karen Estep
Karen Estep is the host of the podcast Stand, Kneel, Now What? In coming home to the Catholic faith as an adult she hopes to share her love of the Church on a daily basis. Karen has been shown many graces through the Sacraments even through all of her blunders. She hopes to help other adults navigate their faith journey as well.
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