The journey to my Third Option has been filled with ups, downs and sharp turns. At times I wasn’t sure if I would get here. I will give you the short version but allow me to lay the groundwork so you will understand my journey. As a survivor of abuse, my life has been recreated in many different ways. What I know is that God uses everything for good for those who love Him. That part of my life led me to help others, to let them know that there is life after abuse. I was a consultant doing training and development all over the world. Not only was I seeing the world, but also meeting some amazing people. I was teaching leadership, communication and management but God was using me to come alongside people who needed encouragement, joy and the knowledge that they were not alone. During this time, He was also prompting me to create a venue so I could share my story and those of others to reach more people. Empowering Women Conference/Retreat was born from this prompting. Believe me, I was resistant to God’s prompting because I delivered training and development conferences, not put them on. Many sleeplessness nights later, I gave in and walked in faith that I would get what I needed to make this happen. For 5 years, we provided a venue for women just like me to learn, grow and connect – truly heal and move forward. I passed this along to another Sister in Christ who has taken it to the next level. I knew it was time to move on but now, I needed to find something to do. Economics required me to get a job and for the next few years I went from job to job due to lack of corporate ethics, questionable business behavior and more things that my faith and integrity could not stomach. A little over a year ago, I found a great company only to be laid off after the season. I was told it would be part time in the off season and full time during season. Unfortunately, due to a really bad winter and reduced season, that was not an option. However, along came Belay as an answer to prayer. We love to travel and have even started travel blogging a year ago in hopes it would provide me income so I could travel and work from anywhere but it wasn’t happening – along came Belay. Do you see God’s hand in this? I do – the blog isn’t making money (it’s fun) and I was laid off – along came Belay! With Belay my third option is now a reality. I can work from anywhere, I can travel and someday soon I can live anywhere in the world and still work. Belay is my Third Option and it came along just when God planned it to come along. At almost 60 years old, there is no way I would find a job (over qualified, too old, etc.) especially one that would allow all of my dreams to come true. Thank you, Shannon Miles, for envisioning this life for all of us and making it a reality!
– Kim