When God Gives Us A New Dream | Amy Langmaack

When we’re in college, we think we have it all figured out… our careers, our friends, the place where we will live.  We’ve got the road all mapped out and it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks or says because we are in control.  We’re on top of the world because we’re about to receive our diploma and enter the “real world” for the first time ever.

I was one of those college students.  I went to school with a plan to be an audio engineer and live in Nashville for the rest of my life.  I had a plan to be in the music industry for the rest of my life.  My dream was to stay in that city that stole my heart, and continues to hold a piece of it to this day.  

But God…

God most certainly had a different plan in mind for me.  I ended up discovering that as much as I loved audio engineering, it wasn’t my calling or my place in life.  It will always be a passion of mine, and something that I enjoy in a casual way.  But the pressures of the job were overwhelming and I couldn’t thrive in that situation.  

I ended up changing my major 5 times in college.  God took me on a journey of discovery.  He showed me passions I have and ways that I enjoyed using my skills and talents and ways that I didn’t.  

I ended school with a major in Sociology, which I always joke was basically a major for people who didn’t know what they wanted because I was able to study a little bit of everything.  I found that I loved criminology and learning why people think and act the way that they do.  

That dream to stay in Nashville no matter what ended up falling flat as well.  I couldn’t find a job and had to move back home with my parents.  

Moving back home began a series of jobs and events I would never have anticipated for my life.  But as a result of those experiences, I know have a clearer dream for my life.

Because of moving back home, I met my now husband.  Because of the jobs I found after moving back home, I learned I had a love and a passion for those who are struggling in life, whether it’s a mental illness, or trauma situation, or the fact that they just need a loving home.

I always knew I was going to adopt children some day.  But since God showed me that my career path was going to change, he has lead me on a journey to knowing that someday I will be giving a home to foster children.  He has uniquely equipped me with the ability to understand the way that the mind works for those who have struggled in life because of my studies in college, and my jobs after college.  He had already given me a love for learning, which I put to good use getting my hands on any and all tools that might be helpful for our family as we look to someday being foster, and most likely adoptive parents.  

The small dream I had in college was all about me and myself.  I wasn’t looking for ways that my life would bring glory to God, but how my life would bring glory to myself.  I wanted to be one of the few females who went on the road doing audio for bands.  It was a dream born out of a selfish heart.

And since God took hold of my heart, and I began to listen to his direction, he has shown me how I can use my life to bring glory to his name! I may never use my master’s degree in criminal justice for anything other than helping a foster child navigate through a situation with the courts, and for me, now, that would be a degree well earned.  I may never work for another company or organization, but helping a child change their thought patterns and find some healing for past hurts would be worth the confusion of not knowing what to major in in college.  

The dream now is more about how I can make an impact for the kingdom, even if for one child.  Because that one child is well worth my time and effort and ultimately my love.

Photo credit: Jameson Bast Photography

Amy Langmaack is a wife and mom to one little princess. Since her daughter was born, her love of learning has been focused on how to live a life that leaves a Godly legacy. She wants to be able to pass on her faith with healthy spiritual disciplines and habits to her daughter as she grows. Amy shares this passion with her husband and they share what they are learning on their blog, Be The Proof.