JAN COLEMAN
My Backstory...
During my painful childhood, I determined to be strong and in control. Despite my misgivings and the way it began, I married my high school sweetheart and spent 15 years trying to make him happy, pretending we were the perfect family. When he left me and our two daughters for the woman who helped me start a 4-H club in my community, I came to the end of my own strength and resources. It was clear I'd put my security in a relationship that vanished overnight, and my identity in the roles I played as wife, mother, journalist, 4-H leader. I was lost, confused and angry without a clue who I really was.
Then a stranger came to my door with a casserole in one hand and a Bible in the other, with a message from the Book of Joel: "Return to me....and I will restore what the locusts have eaten." What a word picture for a country girl who could relate to a swarm of bugs devouring her garden and her dreams. (Plus I had seen that episode of Little House on the Prairie.)
She challenged me to give my heart to the Lord, to trust him with my uncertain future. I responded to the tug on my hurting heart and embraced God's promise that he could take my ruined life and give it new meaning and purpose. Over time----and a few costly detours which I share with women during retreats----I experienced the fully transforming love of Christ.
What a wonderful journey life becomes when you seek to glorify God with all your passions and gifts. He never wastes a hurt, but uses them to enrich the lives of others. It doesn't get any better than that.
Before the locusts, I thought of God as distant and impersonal. I stuffed my pain, wore masks and played the role of a have-it-all together woman. After the locusts (which became the title of my first book) I discovered a personal God who desires a relationship with me, who speaks to me in object lessons (like locusts) and movies because it's how he fashioned me. I shed the masks and got real, with myself, with others and the Lord. Authentic life is the only way to real contentment.
The miracle in my life isn't surviving the locust storms that swept through, but the way God redeemed, restored, revamped and revived me, inspired new priorities and instilled the excitment to become the woman he created me to be, for my good and his glory.
I've passed through many seasons; the doll days, the boy crazies, the dorm days, marriage and divorce, motherhood (wayward daughters), the professional world, singles ministry (the last place I thought I'd be and one of the most cherished) empty nest, re-marriage, the joy of grandparenting.
I'm learning to savor each season and embrace it fully.
I've been speaking to women's groups full time for 8 years, and I never tire of bringing God's word alive with my crazy style and sharing my backstory, all of it----even the painful, shameful parts.
I lead women's Bible study at my church and love the challenges that come with sharing God’s principles in a way that’s relevant to women of all ages and stages.
On a personal note, Carl and I have been married for 15 yrs. and between us we have four adult children. He is a remarkable guy, filled with wisdom and a willing heart for the Lord. We love to travel, watch old classic movies by the fire (Casablanca is our favorite), and fish for mountain trout. Whenever there is a party planned, I get a call asking if I've got this or that in my prop box. I can stay up all night scrapbooking, playing endless card games and cut-throat Scrabble. I'm a hopeless junk shopper with a serious yard-sale, thrift-store fettish.
We worship at Bayside Auburn Church and I love working with our women's ministry team, especially heading up the annual rummage sale. (We made $1900.00 this year, and it all went to women's ministry). Carl and I have a heart for reaching out to those who need hope and restoration.
Which is just about everybody.
BITS OF TRIVIA ABOUT JAN:
In high school she was nominated for “class clown,” campaigned like crazy but lost by two votes. She's still zany. Nobody ever told her to stop campaigning.
Approached by her high school counselor to be part of a pilot program, she agreed to three years of Russian. She can say hello, goodbye, I love you and sing the the Volga Boatman.
She was once known as the "Pig lady of Greenwood," because she raised the best weaner pigs on the Divide, where she lived on 20 acres.
She and her friend Jeanne are trying to retire as the Pointless Sisters. Here they are at a friend's wedding reception where they were asked to be the entertainment. (It was a budget wedding) They came as the "jilted bridesmaids" and poked fun through song at the newlyweds. After five years the groom has finally forgiven them.
St. Petersburg, Russia, Church of the Spilled Blood, the "worst tourist trap in Petersburg," said Nicolai our walking tour guide. Good thing we ignored him. The church was spectacular, all mosaic tile, scenes from the Bible beautifully crafted. Truly a highlight from our trip. The church was erected on a site where one of the Czars was brutally murdered for helping the serfs. Traveling independently to Russia was a challenge where nothing is in English, but we managed to take the metro, the bus and order food....Jan loved speaking what little Russian she could remember from high school.
Read all about it in Jan's travel column.
