"We are all on this journey together. Doing the best we can with what we've been given."
Mary Kay Olson's world has been in education for the past 23 years. She taught 2nd grade, 6th grade, earned her master's degree in gifted education and most recently served as an instructional assistant and behavior coach. But, one day she felt a call to go in a different direction; a very different direction. Instead of teaching during the day, and speaking periodically at night, she felt like God wanted her to take the plunge and speak full time. She felt one word, scared. But, after much prayer and wavering back and forth, she finally took the step out of the boat and said OK. So, now she is speaking and writing full time about some of the trials she's experienced in her life and the lessons God has taught her. Her prayer is that the hope she has found will encourage you and give you hope on your journey. And, she is so real and honest about her life.
Let's tell you about her life. Part One is before she got married and Part Two is after. Part One is filled with blessings like family, friends and growing up in an amazing small town. These blessings, great as they were, often were over shadowed by major trials such as sexual abuse, depression, and losing her dad to cancer.
Part Two started when she met her husband, Brad. She says he is the greatest blessing in her life. After Brad and Mary Kay got married, they jumped into parenthood quickly, anticipating starting that family they both had dreamt about. They were blessed with two beautiful children and made their home in Rogers, Minnesota. But here's the kicker...they found out that both of their children, had different types of special needs.
Their daughter was born with a rare genetic disorder that resulted in nine surgeries, countless procedures and many hospital stays. Their son was diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) at the age of six and struggled immensely with friendships, school and home life.
When she finds herself in the midst of trials such as these, she says it's easy for her to make that her focus. "The trial can overcome me. And, if I'm not careful, I can lose site of the blessings around me, and only see the battle before me."
Over the years, the battle became too much. Too overwhelming. And, one day everything suddenly stopped. Literally. " I couldn't function. I could barely move. I was done. I had reached my emotional rock bottom and had nowhere to look but up."
And that's when things started to change. That's when she started to see the blessings. "I started to praise God for the trials because I knew there was a reason for them. I didn't know why the trials were there, but understanding wasn't my job. My job was to be still, listen and trust God. He knew the plan. He knew the way. And as a family, we slowly started to find our hope and we started to 'Praise Up'."
Whatever you are going through, there is hope. There's always hope. God never left Mary Kay's side and He’ll never leave yours.
–The Goal—
The goal of Praise Up, is to do exactly that, to praise up, to praise God, no matter what is going on in your life. Easy to say, right? When you are in the midst of a trial it is extremely difficult to see the blessings and to praise God. But through Praise Up, Mary Kay's prayer is that you will be able to find hope and follow God even in the midst of the chaos around us.
–The Mission and Truth of Praise Up—
The mission of Praise Up is to Praise God, Follow God and Have Hope…no matter what. We all have different “truths” in our lives. Most of the time, that truth is the hardest to talk about, but in many ways, the most important. When we speak our truth freely, even though it’s scary, it lets people in. It lets them see we aren’t perfect and they don’t have to be either. It’s truly freeing. So, what is Mary Kay's truth? Well, it’s a mixed bag. Half filled with blessings and the other half trials. The blessings range from family, friends, to her husband and kids. The trials such as sexual abuse as a child, depression, losing her dad to cancer, parenting children with different special needs, and struggling with insecurity can overwhelm her if she's not careful. Through every trial, God showed up for her and never left her side; and she knows he will never leave yours.
–The Bottom Line—
"I have learned many lessons from God. Every one of those lessons has impacted my life, but one, in particular, has given me incredible freedom. That lesson is that I am enough just as I am. I am enough and so are you. The bottom line is that we are all on this journey together, trying to do the best we can with what we’ve been given. So, let's do this! Whether you are at your rock bottom, or just trying to get through each day, there is hope. I know you have a lot on your plate. Your life is crazy. But, believe me...if I found hope, I know you can too. So, let's come together, encourage each other and strive to, Praise Up…no matter what."
