Greater things happen in uncomfortable places
Ashlynn Cartrette, Staff Writer
�We�ve moved several times,� she said, �from up-state New York, to Rhode Island, to Maine, to South Carolina. I�m actually here with some friends [now] because he�s back in New Hampshire with another church.�
Growing up as a preacher�s daughter, Kaelie Ricker was met with struggles and responsibilities her peers were never faced with. From moving multiple times, to being held to a higher standard, Ricker knew that her life was not the same as that of others her age.
�I was born on a Wednesday,� Ricker stated, �and [my mom] jokes that he left to go to a prayer meeting on Wednesday night after I was born. Because growing up, our whole life was entangled in the church. Even in the sense that life was put on the backburner because the ministry was first.�
Her father�s commitment to the church was such that it was prioritized above most everything else; this commitment was hard for Ricker to understand as a child.
�The first half of life was like, �Oh, my dad neglects me; my dad chooses this first.��
Ricker recalled one specific time her dad chose the church first. �I remember one birthday party I had to cancel because we had a church missionary conference.�
It was her seventh birthday; one can imagine how hard that would be to understand at that age.
�Before [�] really knowing the Lord [�], it was frustrating� and what I wanted didn�t match up with what my dad was choosing to do.�
Not only was the family aspect of being a preacher�s daughter different from most, there was also added pressure from the church members for her to uphold a certain standard.
Ricker said about being the preacher�s daughter: �You get pulled apart. [It�s] like you�re under a microscope in so many different ways and if you�re not consciously making decisions in light of that you can really screw things up for you and the testimony of your dad.�
�You have to be so transparent about your mess. Let your mess be your message.�
Being in the spotlight at church was difficult; whether she wanted to be or not, Ricker was seen as a role model for her peers.
�I felt like I was held to a standard that if I didn�t meet it would look less of me.�
Even the schools she went to had preconceived ideas as to how Ricker compared to her peers, simply because of her father�s job as a pastor.
�The school knew who my dad was, so teachers [�] expected me to be the model and it was almost like there was no short-cutting [�] you couldn�t fall short of what the line was.� For Ricker, that line was far above that of her peers.
�Before knowing the Lord and knowing the mission that we�re called [to], it was frustrating because life didn�t seem fair. When your heart isn�t set on the things the Lord calls you to, things don�t match up.�
It wasn�t until Ricker experienced that heart change that she was able to fully see and appreciate her dad�s job and how she was raised.
Ricker said that heart change happened �when we moved from Maine to South Carolina because we had lived in Maine for as long as I remembered and we left everything comfortable and I had to have my own faith.�
�It wasn�t �Hey, lets go to church and have friends!� it was like, �You�re in a new place with a new school and you�re going to have to make choices on your own and be who you are and be who God has called you to be, not because that�s what your friends are doing but because that is what I�ve told you to do.��
Ricker had just finished 8th grade when they moved. She was thrown into a high school much larger than her middle school, with all new people; that uncomfortable place is where she found and grew her own relationship with Christ.
When asked if being a preacher�s daughter strengthened or hindered her faith, Ricker replied, �Knowledge-wise, it has strengthened and in advice and wisdom. I�ve always had someone who is very knowledgeable around and very close to me to be comfortable with. As far as specific realization as to what is going on and what I need to be in line with, it probably pushed me back a little bit. Because I had all the head knowledge, but my heart wasn�t in it.�
After Ricker experienced that heart change, her mindset about her father�s job changed. Instead of misunderstanding, she was able to admire the fact that �he continuously chooses what the Lord has called him to.�
�I would do it all over again.� Ricker stated confidently. �I wouldn�t change anything about how I was raised; I wish I could change my attitude towards how I was raised when I was younger. I wish I was mature enough to understand what was happening.�
�The biggest blessing was having something that was constant in my life,� Ricker said about growing up in the church. �No matter how much the chaos and the craziness of life came at me, the Lord and who He is [�] has been constant.�
Ricker said of her relationship with her father: �To have someone who is a spiritual leader in my dad, in one person who can lead and guide me in the right direction when it comes to life circumstances and spiritually [�] I didn�t have to find someone; the Lord just gave him to me.�
Ricker is a freshman at North Greenville University, studying elementary education. Her dream job is to be a third grade teacher.
However, if she could do anything, she would teach foreign children and use that to spread the message of Christ, specifically in a part of the world that is completely out of her comfort zone.
�Greater things happen in uncomfortable places,� Ricker stated.
Ricker has always had a passion for the social injustice for children who have been mistreated. So she hopes to help change that, either here in the states or wherever the Lord leads her.
�The desire to be uncomfortable is an odd desire, but it�s new. But the passion to work with children and to justify what is wrong and to make right situations they can�t control has always been there.�
�I think if my dad [weren�t] so obedient to what the Lord had called him to do, I wouldn�t be where I am today, where my �yes� is on the table whether it�s Africa or the Philippines or South Carolina.�
