One of the bends in our river came when we were transferred to Washington DC. 

We had been living in Westchester, NY. First there was an apartment, a husband and two little girls (born just one year apart).  Then there was a larger apartment, a baby boy, two sisters, and a husband.  Finally, there was a tall English Tudor, two little girls, and two little boys. We lived close to family, college and high school friends..  I was busy and happy.

But in DC our lives changed.  We had a bigger house, a small sailboat on the Potomac, and children who were now at school all day.  I painted the new house and wondered what I would be doing with the rest of my life. I tried playing bridge, got pretty good at the game, but was bored with the life style.

I was busy all summer with swimming lessons, swim meets, and new friends.  But I wanted to do something more demanding, something that would allow me to work when the kids were at school but be home when they were home.  School!!!  That, I thought, could provide the answer. 

Fairfax, Va has a county-wide school system and they were advertising for teachers.  I had the right college credits and so I applied and went for an interview. 

The young man who interviewed me was pleasant enough; but he made it clear that he thought I was too old. (I was 37).  I was furious. I didn’t think of myself as"old."  I had been rejected. As I left the office, I flung a parting comment over my shoulder, “I hope everyone you hire gets pregnant.”

The Lord works in mysterious ways….  A short while later I saw an advertisement in the paper for a "home-bound teacher".  I applied and was enthusiastically accepted.  That decision changed my life for years to come. The Lord had taken this opportunity to bend my river toward a pet project of His...kids with problems.

Oh yes, I even got the last laugh.  When I was in line waiting for my TB X-ray a young woman approached me.  She was the secretary of the man who had previously interviewed and rejected me.  She was laughing. “Aren't you the lady who wished that everyone my boss hired would get pregnant?”  I nodded.  “Well, they did…most of them are expecting before the year is out.” 

Th