More From Carol Round

It’s been a year since I wrote “Committing My Life.” However, 22 years have passed since I sat by the lake and prayed aloud for the first time. But I still remember that fall day as if it were yesterday. That afternoon in October 2001 was the beginning of my walk with Jesus and a day that changed my life forever.

After retiring from a 30-year teaching career in 2005, God has had me on a journey I never would have imagined taking. A wise man once told me that you won’t find the word “retirement” in the Bible. “It’s called redirection,” he explained. I agree. I had made my post-teaching plans to include writing secular feature and human-interest stories for state newspapers. In addition, I had a photography business, shooting high school senior portraits, little league teams, and weddings.

Not only did God lead me to give up those plans, he also convinced me—after much arguing on my part—to leave my lakeside home and move to a larger Oklahoma community filled with traffic delays and the sounds of two major railroad crossings. Only God could have orchestrated that. Why else would I give up the peace of the lake?

After moving, I began to write a weekly faith-based column. Eventually, my column was picked up by 14 Oklahoma newspapers, several national publications, and then went international when an online Christian publication began carrying it on their website. I’m always humbled when I receive emails from my readers, especially from other countries.

My column has also led to speaking engagements, blogging, and eventually authoring nine books. Speaking engagements weren’t easy for me in the beginning because the only C grade I received in college was for a speech class. Even though I could face a classroom full of teenagers, I feared standing in front of my peers. When I was asked to speak before a crowd of over 200 women, I hesitated. I wasn’t ready, but God knew I was.

Approaching my pastor about the speaking invitation, I explained my dilemma. He said, “Carol, you know that is what God is calling you to do, and you just need to get out of the boat.”

Since that day, I have not lived by my “comfortable” to-do-list but have been open to that still, small voice directing my steps. I’ve been places I never dreamed of going—two mission trips overseas and a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with our pastor and other church members.

More importantly, I have surrendered my life to the Lord. I’ve prayed, “Lord, use me,” and he has done more with my life than I ever could.

Maybe that’s why Proverbs 3:5-6 is one of my favorites. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (NIV).