"Man plans and God laughs."
-Yiddish Proverb
For some of us, life is a straight path. We go to school. We get a job. We get married. We have kids. We get a better job. We buy a house. We go to PTA meetings. We get a better job. Our lives work out exactly as we had planned.
For some of us, that path winds around a bit. We go to school. We get a job. We live abroad. We learn a new language. We go to grad school. We start a company. We spoil our friend's kids. We take a sabbatical. We join a board. We circumnavigate the world. Our lives work out in spite of our plans.
Because, even on the road less traveled, we still wind up right where we're supposed to be exactly when we're supposed to be there. God, right there along side, laughing with us at how it all works out.
VYRIA PASELK
She's a California girl from the country.
She went to a small school from kindergarten through high school. She won a pageant and everything else. She then left for the beautiful hills of Santa Barbara where she went to a small Christian college. She stuck around after college for a few years to work with people. She occasionally escaped the West Coast to travel back to Costa Rica to visit her extended family and put her dual-citizenship to good use. Then, she went to graduate school for an MBA which moved her to France and then to Italy. She finally came home to Northern California and settled in San Francisco. There, she worked in the non-profit tech sector, volunteered in her community, and went to church.
MICHAEL HAVERHALS
He's a nerdy guy from Seattle.
He went to a small school from kindergarten through high school. He won a spelling bee and a few basketball games. He then left for the cornfields of Northwest Iowa where he went to a small Christian college. He scurried immediately back to the west coast to work with computers. He occasionally escaped the West Coast to travel back to Holland to visit family and connect with his roots. Then he went to graduate school for a master’s that moved him to San Francisco where he realized he liked working with people more than he liked working with computers. There, he started up companies in the for-profit tech sector, volunteered in his city, and went to church.
TOGETHER IN TOGETHERNESS
They met at a Bible study in San Francisco.
They laughed at how ridiculous it was that for over a decade they'd gone to the same parties, been a part of the same church communities, spent time with the same friends, and lived in the same neighborhood - but had never met. They grabbed drinks. They went to concerts. They laughed at how awful dating can be when church people are involved. Then they fixed that problem. And, the rest is a history that they'll be writing together.
Do you have photos of Vyria or Mike?
A glamourous pageant photo of Vyria?
A photo of Mike sporting the horns?
Or, a photo of you with Vyria or Mike?
Please share them with us!