What you probably already know about Scarlett is that she is a faithful "Detach" reader. You probably also know she's my dear friend, and has been so for more than 30 years; since we were in 8th grade. This friendship kicked it up a few notches when we reconnected 10 or 15 years ago. We spend every Sunday afternoon together, we go on a girl's getaway vacation every year, and we talk to each other every day. Some important things you may not know about Scarlett are that she is very tenacious, and very, very loyal. She's single with no kids, and like many of us, she's worked for the same company for more than 20 years. I believe that is what makes this story so interesting...
In her own words, here is Scarlett's "Reason":
If you’d asked me six months ago why I thought I was put on this earth, I would be giving you a whole different answer than I am today. Through an unplanned chain of events, I’ve discovered a new reason why I believe I was put on this earth.
Let me give a little background first. When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a police officer or detective when I grew up. But the Lord and life took me down a different path to the business world. I worked and went to college and earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree and was fairly content. Last spring, something started stirring inside of me, and I decided to go back and earn a second Master’s. I chose an area totally unrelated to anything I’ve ever done before: Security Management. I applied for tuition reimbursement through my company and was denied because they’d already “paid” for one Master’s Degree for me and wouldn’t reimburse for a second one. I knew I couldn’t afford the tuition on my own, so I prayed about it and asked the Lord for a clear sign; if it was meant for me to earn this degree and learn about this area, all I asked for was for Him to help me make it happen. I’d almost given up and called the university’s registrar and told them to cancel my paperwork because I wouldn’t be able to attend. The registrar put me on hold, and when she got back on the phone she told me that I’d was eligible for a grant, a scholarship and the rest would be funded by a government loan with an extremely low interest rate. There was my answer. But the story doesn’t end there.
It didn’t take me very long to realize that “Security Management” degree program actually meant security management. I thought it would be about keeping companies safe internally – like from corporate takeovers, embezzlement, shady accounting or IT practices – things like that. But it meant actual security. It also didn’t take me long to fall in love with it. I couldn’t wait to get home from work in the evenings and study. I even loved the homework, especially a big project where we had to do an in-depth analysis of an organization’s security program. Something started stirring inside of me again, and I chose the area of church security for my analysis. I analyzed the security programs of two churches in Louisville – one was my church, and the other happened to be the largest church in the United States. Not only did I get a 100% on this project, I also got the realization that this was maybe what I was supposed to do in life. A month later, I received a call from church, and was asked to be a member on the church’s security task force. After attending a couple of meetings and offering some suggestions, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that they were actually putting my suggestions into use. And just a few weeks ago, they asked me to be the lead security monitor during our early church service. They’re also sending me to a church security and emergency planning seminar up in Cincinnati next week, too.
Last year when I decided to go back and get this degree, I jokingly said that this was my mid-life crisis. Little did I know that this would turn into my mid-life changing event. None of it is coincidence; anyone that knows me knows that I’m a firm believer that there is no such thing as coincidence. The Lord took forty-six and a half years to get me molded and prepared for what He wanted me to do. As a kid, I wanted to be an officer and “serve and protect” and now through this unplanned chain of events, I’m finally getting the opportunity.
And the timing is perfect. With more and more shootings and other violent events happening at churches, there is a huge need for this type of security. I agree Scarlett, I think this is your "thing". Start going forward and don't look back!
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