I wrote this article for a Speech Therapy journal.
After working as a Speech Pathologist for six years (mainly in adult rehab), I began a two year apprenticeship with my church at the start of this year. My decision to quit Speech Pathology was an easy one logically and a hard one emotionally. I originally trained as a Speech Pathologist (at La Trobe University) because I wanted to help disadvantaged people in a meaningful way. Since graduation I had been slowly gaining the experience necessary to work in poor countries. But things got complicated when I became a Christian at the start of 2004. I realised that doing 'Christian work' was as valid as doing 'secular work'. I saw that the skills I used as a Speech Pathologist could also be used to teach the bible and to mentor others in their walk with God. And so I changed tack and decided instead to do the church apprenticeship.
It wasn't quite that simple though. I knew the apprenticeship was a good idea, but I went into it feeling guilty for abandoning my clients. I would be leaving them without a service until a new Speechie could be recruited. This was a real test of whether I really did believe in a God who cares for the wellbeing of peoples' bodies and souls. My workmates were surprisingly supportive of me heading in this new direction and leaving them without a Speech Pathology service. I think they just wanted me to pursue whatever I was best suited to - which was lovely of them. But I did wonder if they were just being polite and if they actually thought it was selfish to be doing spiritual things when clients needed help. It was a question I had to ask myself. After some thought I came to the conclusion that, as a Christian, I believe that the spiritual is ultimately more important than the physical – and so if I had the ability, opportunity and desire to do church work, then I should do it. I do believe that the state of people's hearts is more important than the state of their bodies, and so it's an honour to play my part in leading people to have their hearts forgiven and renewed by Jesus and to help them get to know him better and grow more like him each day!
But this still wasn't a holey satisfying answer. In reading the bible, I saw that God does care about our bodies as well as our souls. And that, being God, he has the power to act in our everyday lives. So I was finally able to take the step from speech to church work with genuine trust that God did care about and would look after the clients I was leaving behind.
With all that behind me, I ventured out into the world of the church! So what do I do in my new job? I spend a fair amount of time each week meeting up with other women that go to my church. We study the bible and pray together, and chat about how to approach life as a Christian and about how things are going. I also regularly read the bible and pray by myself. Some of this work is similar to Speech Pathology – guiding discussion; answering questions; explaining complex ideas simply; listening; being supportive and encouraging. I also help lead a Sunday School and make particular use of my Speech Pathology skills in this context. I have to have a good understanding of the passage I am teaching and I have to identify the logical flow of the passage, break it into sections and identify themes. I then need to determine what level the kids are at – how much information they can take in and the complexity of ideas they can understand. I may need to access or develop teaching resources. When I am teaching the children I need to explain things simply, possibly limiting sentence length and number of ideas conveyed. I need to have the flexibility to answer questions and to change tack if the passage proves very easy or very difficult to understand. And finally I need to show them practical application of knowledge about God – how it affects their life and how they should respond. We may discuss situations they've been in and how they acted. We may discuss how God would like them to act and ask for his help to do this. I see many similarities between all this and the therapy I have conducted for adults with aphasia or for students with language difficulties.
There are also significant differences however. We talk about or to God. We examine and discuss motives and purposes. We consider how to behave. We recognise and praise God for his goodness and we ask him for forgiveness and assistance.
My job also involves serving the church in practical ways – reading the bible out in the Sunday service; doing the washing up; organising newcomer's nights; helping a friend clean their house; going for a walk with someone who's upset. This is all quite unlike my Speech Pathology work, except perhaps for the flexibility and creativity you need to exercise when tailoring therapy to individuals.
So what are my future plans? At this stage I'm not sure. I might continue on in this line of work, but I may also return to Speech Pathology. I'd like to think that if I did, my time doing church work would benefit my work as a Speech Pathologist. I have matured quite a lot in my faith, so I'd hope to prove a trustworthy and hard worker, but also one who is aware that work isn't everything. I'd hope to place such value on working well that if I was having trouble, I would either think of a creative solution or have the courage to ask my boss for help. I'd want to ask God to give me enough energy to love and be kind to my clients and workmates throughout the hectic working day.
I'd hope to remember God throughout my day at work. This would ideally begin before work by reading his word and praying. I would like to organise a weekly get-together for my Christian workmates to support and encourage each other and to pray together.
But who knows? In ten years time you might find me in darkest Africa, helping out with a local church or translating the bible into a tribal language . . . or in Hobart, being a Speech Pathologist.
This article was first published in Australian Communication Quarterly (ACQ). The Speech Pathology Association of Australia owns the copyright to this article.
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