God Makes a Way

Story by Tompaul Wheeler

Dana Audain, a member of the Sligo church, found God moving through people at a moment of crisis. 

About to graduate with a degree in elementary education, Audain had a teaching job lined up. Then one day, on a break while subbing at another school, she called for employment confirmation for an apartment rental. She learned the school that had hired her was suddenly closing. 

“I totally freaked out,” Audain says. When the principal of the school she was at that day saw her, she asked, “Are you okay?” 

Eyes filling with tears, Audain shared her news. “It’s okay,” the principal reassured her. “I’ll create a job for you. I’ll find the money somewhere in the budget.” 

That school had no openings, but the principal split one classroom into two. “I had a teeny tiny classroom,” Audain says. “My first year teaching, I had eight students. It was an amazing year. And 24 years later, I’m starting again there this year.” 

Looking back over her life thus far, Audain sees God leading through it all. How her path kept crossing with the man she married. How God’s given her strength and guidance as a parent. 

“My youngest was born with a facial cleft,” Audain says. “Through her surgeries, and through everything, God has always provided for us. Before I had kids, [I’d see other families and think] `Their parents are so strong, I could never do that.’ And then I had a child born with a facial difference, and, you know, He gives you the strength to be able to do what you need to do, to handle everything.”