Author: Susan Collins

I am a National Board Certified Teacher specializing in K-5 general music in Kingman Unified School District. In 1993, I began my career in music education in Mississippi, where I served my local district and state in various leadership and collaborative endeavors with other music educators. I owned and operated a successful early childhood music studio for 8 years receiving the “Program of Distinction” for my work with children ages birth to 5 years old. I received a Bachelor’s of Music Education and Masters of Music Education from Delta State University, Cleveland, MS. Since moving to Arizona, I have had the privilege of serving as a 2017 Hope Street Teacher fellow and a candidate support provider for teachers pursuing National Board Certification through the Arizona K-12 Center for professional development. I am passionate about advocating for sustainable education policy and supporting educator and community involvement in that process.

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Receiving Service

February 10, 2021February 8, 2021by Susan Collins1 Comment

Sister, let me be your servant.

Let me be as Christ to you.

Pray that I might have the grace to

Let you be my servant too.

As I was praying and contemplating what to write, this kept running through my head. It is a simple chorus to a traditional song, yet the words are compelling.

God made us for a relationship with Him and with each other. Many of us get the serving part down pretty well. We want to feel useful, involved, and connected. We volunteer and do lots of things to build up other believers. Those are all good things and generally come from a place of reverence and response to the grace that God has poured out on us.

For me, the tricky part is being as responsive to the second part of that chorus as I am to the first. We all have times of need. There is nothing weak or unacceptable about accepting the grace of God through the hands of His daughters.

Several years ago, I had the opportunity to be involved in a local community of The Walk to Emmaus. These are spiritual renewal weekends that are organized by Upper Room Ministries in Nashville, TN. The 72-hour experience is very structured and requires many people working together to make a truly unique and life-changing experience. The basic idea is to set up an environment where the participants receive tangible gifts of service and sacrifice all weekend to simulate a New Testament community and the reality of God’s grace. This is done through acts of kindness, talks presenting different aspects of the Christian walk, meeting physical and spiritual needs, and insulating the participants from outside issues while they are there.

I was involved in numerous renewal weekends over 5 years. One thing that I witnessed consistently was people’s discomfort with being served. Through this experience, God taught me and reminds me that allowing others to serve me is as much a part of His plan as my service to them.

Luke Chapter 10 gives us two parables about accepting service, but many times we do not look at them in that light. What would the story of the Good Samaritan be if the injured traveler refused his help? How would God be glorified in the traveler refusing help and insisting he could manage on his own? The story of Martha and Mary is precisely what the song refers to. Martha is being the hands and feet of Jesus through service, while Mary shows grace and reverence to Jesus.

Service is not gender-specific. There are times when we share it and times when we receive it.

Would you deny a sister in Christ her act of obedience by refusing service?

The Servant Song

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Finding God in the Wilderness

January 13, 2021January 13, 2021by Susan Collins3 Comments

The call of God comes in many forms. For some it is a specific frame of mind or time of day that opens the line of communication. One way I hear God is in a place. A place where the magnificence of God is evident in the formation of rocks, the fragility of vegetation, and the smallest creatures of the desert. The Grand Canyon.

May of 2010 I proceeded into the depths. I marveled at the scenes around me and how God is such a creative being. I was starting to feel fairly confident when I heard it. The unmistakable sound of a rattlesnake. I backed up five or six steps and the snake slithered off the path. Then I kicked some rocks, made some noise and ran past that angry snake.

When I reached the bottom of the incline I was in a place where I could rest and refill my water. I sat there for almost an hour, talking to God. He called me here, why would He scare me? He didn’t. A reminder that the world does not revolve around me, but God is always available and willing to guide. I put my pack on and started down the trail again.

As I continued on, I met other hikers who shared their experience and encouragement. I was traveling through the bottom layer of the Grand Canyon which is made of volcanic rock. This stretch of trail is known as “the box” because it heats up like an oven. I remember repeating Psalm 23 to myself, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”

I reached for my straw to get another sip of water and got a trickle of water and several air bubbles. I was out of water. I asked God to carry me. In less that half of a mile, I walked into the compound that is Phantom Ranch.

On the second evening that I spent at Phantom Ranch, one of the women in my dorm asked if I would like a walking partner. We agreed to hike out together after breakfast.

The hike out was hot and difficult, just as the hike down had been. The difference was that I was not alone. God called me to this journey to show me the dangers of trying to navigate life without Him, and the ease and joy of a shared burden when I rely on Him. He put exactly the people I needed along my path. As for the snake. How many times do I wander into Satan’s domain completely unaware that I have moved so far away from God?

My soul was greatly renewed on that trip. At the end of that journey, I found a renewed sense of confidence and reliance on Him. That painful place didn’t go away, but my perception of it changed dramatically.