Ordained to Serve!

Ordained to Serve

My name is Aimee Blythe. I am a 33-year-old wife to an incredible husband and mother to an amazing son. I have a full-time career as a pharmacy buyer at a local Catholic hospital. I have a Diploma in organizational leadership as well an Associate’s degree in Business Management and a Bachelors of Divinity through Christian Leaders Institute.

My husband is paraplegic who also has epilepsy, but he doesn’t let that get him down, his faith is strong and seeing him with such hardship makes me appreciate my health even more every day. My son Ethan is the light of my life, we never thought we were going to have children, nor did we want to. We were too busy living our lives for ourselves and were too selfish to want children.

When I found out I was pregnant with my son, I was terrified, so much so, for a short time, we thought of giving him up for adoption. Luckily, God knew better than we did. He realized how much I needed my son. It was through the birth of our son that I truly realized how much God loved me for the very first time. I had grown up in a Christian home, but rebelled in my teenage years, drinking, smoking, partying and living a promiscuous lifestyle; the list seems to be never-ending about the offenses against Christ I committed.

I went through a long period of life where I hated God. I never stopped believing he existed; I merely loathed his existence. I hated my life and everything in it, and I thought God was cruel for bringing me here. When I met my husband, we started attending church together, but we both continued to live selfish and evil lives while calling ourselves Christians. It wasn’t until I had my beautiful son that it finally sunk into my head what God had done for me. He gave up his son for us so that we may have eternal life. The thought overwhelmed me while I held my newborn son. I couldn’t imagine giving him up. How could anyone love me that much? It was that moment that I knew I had to change my life. Things didn’t happen all at once, but over time God has softened and refined my soul through sanctification.

My life has been changed forever because God’s plan is so much greater that anything I could come up with on my own. Praise God for his goodness and mercy. I never thought I would be considering going into ministry. If you knew me in my rebellious days, you would never think I would be here enrolling at CLI. My husband went through the program a few years ago, and I saw such a positive change in his outlook and his faith that I have been drawn to the program.

I have been looking for a ministry where I can serve the elderly population in my area because I have a heart for the older generation. I love them so much; my heart nearly bursts every time I get a chance to help them out. I have wanted to find a career or volunteer work where I could help the elderly for a while now, but recently I felt a drawing toward hospital chaplain positions.

My search to figure out what I would need to do to become a hospital chaplain led me to formal training at CLI. I don’t know for sure if I am called to be a chaplain. What I do know is my spirit has led me this far, and with this training, I will grow closer to the Lord, and hopefully help others around me grow as well. I pray that God will use me in great ways, whether it be as a chaplain or anything else he desires. Having a scholarship through CLI has allowed me to grow in my Christian walk and help me prepare for a career or bi-vocational ministry if that’s where I am led. Now that I have finished my Bachelors of Divinity through CLI, I am excited to seek my ordination. I am currently taking the Deacon classes, and I am planning to officiate my 1st wedding in the fall for a very dear friend.

Author: Henry Reyenga

Henry Reyenga is president of Christian Leaders Institute and Christian Leaders Alliance.