Maria Scherlie:
CLASS OF 1990
Escambia High SchoolClass of 1990
Pensacola, FL
Doyline High SchoolClass of 1990
Doyline, LA
Springfield High SchoolClass of 1990
Springfield, OH
Great Falls High SchoolClass of 1988
Great falls, MT
West Pensacola Elementary SchoolClass of 1983
Pensacola, FL
Maria's Story
Life
When I was10 yrs old, I thought about the meaning of life and wondered what was the purpose of my own life. I also thought about this God who I heard about. Was he like those Greek gods who play with humans like a pawn in a chess game? My uncle was a Jew who accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior and he was a Baptist Pastor. I prayed to God and asked him, "If you are really real, reveal yourself to me." Not too long after that prayer, thanks to my friend from school, Arthur invited me to a Vacation Bible School. There I heard about the gospel of Jesus Christ-- which I'm sure I must have heard my uncle preach, but this time i understood! I came to the knowledge of my sins and accepted Jesus as my Savior in Oct. of 1981 in that Baptist congregation in Pensacola.
I started attending a different Baptist congregation where I was taught praying to statues is idolatry. I had been baptized (really I was sprinkled) as a baby in a Catholic church, but from reading the Bible I learned that baptism is to publicly acknowledge my commitment to serve God. In April of 1990, I was baptized (completely under the water)and I completely surrendered to serve God.
During my teen years I had been looking for a husband in all the WRONG places. I began to pray that year for God to send the right man to me, but never told anyone my prayer. Then one day, my Pastor told my Mom that a young man was coming to town in September of 1990 and he wanted to introduce me to him--this was during service from the pulpit! Well, thankfully we were a very small congregation with just a few families. The day he brought him to my house, my mom decided she was going to go to the store while the Pastor and this guy where there, but I said as a joke to her, "What if this is my future husband? Isn't this bad manners?"
Right before the boyfriend I had in 10th grade proposed to me, my mom gave me a speech about "don't get serious about this boy because you don't know what you will be doing in 5 years." And so, when he asked me to marry him I told him "we shouldn't get too serious--we don't know where we will be in 5 years" and at this time I knew my parents had filed bankruptcy and we had to move to another state. We stopped dating after I moved, but I contacted him when we moved back to Florida. In a letter i told him that I was a Christian, but after I told him that he never wrote back to me. I knew then it was never meant to be.
From the moment we met we talked to each other non-stop. When my Mom got back from the store, the Pastor said, "I'm going to leave these two to talk while I go get an ice cream." We were still talking when he got back, lol. My future husband spent every waking moment with me for the next few weeks from that day. His Mom and step-dad drove his car down from Montana and that first week we went places together. They flew back home, but it is too bad he didn't ask me to marry him while they were already there. The morning after my husband proposed to me, my Mom said, "You would be foolish to let this guy get away." And no sooner had I said, "He asked me to marry him last night," she was on the phone to everyone telling them I was getting married and I had not even had the chance to say, "Yes" to him yet, lol. I had actually told him no, the night he proposed, because I wasn't sure yet and I needed more time to think about this. Yet, after talking with my Mom, I knew then that this was God's will. So, when he came to see me the next morning, I asked him if he would marry me.
We met in Sept. of 1990 and married almost 3 weeks later--yes, we had only known each other 3 weeks-- on Oct. 1st of 1990. His ship was heading for Iraq the next month and I would be turning 19 which meant I would no longer be able to use my medical coverage under my Dad who had retired from the Navy. My fiance wanted to make sure I had medical coverage before he deployed-- for who knew how long-- since war in Iraq was imminent. We decided to have a small wedding--to be able to go ahead and make me his dependent before he shipped out-- with just our Pastor, my Mom, my best friend and her boyfriend, the Pastor's wife, the Pastor's daughter (the one who tried to introduce us back in January) and her husband. I bought a white dress that was probably more like the kind of dress you would change into for the reception, but I was happy with it and it was on sale for only $18. He borrowed a suit. Later, in December of 1990, we had a big wedding with a real dress and tuxedos for our family and friends. I probably should have just had the first wedding and saved the money, but the pictures with family and friends made it worth it. I also wanted my husband's Mom to be able to see us exchange vows even if it was just a reenactment. We are still married because God put us together and kept us together--he must have used supernatural super glue ;D We have a 19yr old daughter, in her 2nd year of coll...Expand for more
ege, and two sons, 16yrs old and 14yrs old, as of Jan. 1, 2012.
When my husband was up for orders- to choose his next place to be stationed -before he was stationed here in Puerto Rico, we prayed and asked God to first of all let my husband be able to have shore duty because we didn't want him having to be gone on 6 month deployments anymore and second that he be placed where his family could come with him, but most importantly that God would help us relocate to a place where He could use us for his glory. Even though my husband was able to make his preference known, the Navy could have sent him alone to Panama for a couple of years or to another ship in California, but at the last moment Puerto Rico became an option that fit all our requests. To God be the glory! My husband was later given a medical discharge and we decided to remain here because I had a job at a school here. We are currently serving the Lord at a Christian school in Puerto Rico. My husband is the computer teacher of the over 500 students and the ministries' IT technician. I am the kindergarten Daycare supervisor of 40 children and after school late-stay supervisor of 30 students. I have been taking a college class or two each semester for the past 16 years, taking a few years off here and there to take care of my boys when they were babies, for a degree in Elementary Education.
School
Mrs. Sarah Cobb (American Government, Escambia High School)was the teacher who inspired me to become a teacher. It wasn't her teaching skills, but the "lack of skills"...She payed more attention to the "A" students and didn't much care for a failing student. A good teacher would try to find out what is going on in the life of a failing student. I was an "A" honor student when I came to Escambia High, but depression led me down the wrong path. My father had a heart attack and could not work the 2 jobs he had. We lost our home and had to move to another state in the middle of my sophomore year. My boyfriend and I lost contact because of the distance. I began to drink and party and lost interest in school because the new school was small and did not have the things I was interested in. We moved back to Pensacola for my Junior year. My senior year is a blur. I became busy working to make money just so I could buy my clothes. My boss was an atheist. When she found out I was a Christian, she cut my hours and then offered to give me more if I would work on Sundays. Earning money became my priority. I worked the last shift and got home at midnight, and I would often skip her class. I would be late for her class which meant the tardy tank and automatic "0" in class anyway. Not once did any of my teachers try to find out why an "A" honor student went to an "F" student. When I went to the school counselor to try to get into the work/study program she didn't even ask why I was failing classes--all she said was it was "too late" for me. My Dad had another heart attack and I quit my job that night realizing I had my priorities wrong.
My father died Dec. 8, 1989. I thought I was going to have to repeat my senior year, but my sister told me I could transfer to Ohio where they only required 15 credits which meant I only needed to pass one class--American Government-- and I could be done in January since Florida schools required 21 credits. So, I transferred to a high school in Ohio over Christmas break. The American Government teacher there encouraged me to bring my "F" up to a "B"-- even though it was through rote memorization of the local counties/parishes on a map. I can't remember any of them even if my life depended on it.
I went back to Pensacola that January. My husband was invited to the Sunday service that same month or the following by a friend he went to school with at Corry Naval Station. He accepted Jesus as his Savior. I attended off and on that year. The Pastor's daughter was going to introduce us, but she thought I was only 17 yrs. old. My husband later told me it was love at first sight, but he feared getting in trouble with the military because he thought I was underage or jail-bate. I was actually 18. He got transferred to Norfolk, VA. Our meeting later was in God's time and planning. I was so backslidden and I needed to get right with God before we met. That April I was baptized and surrendered my will to God.
My father's dieing so young (in his 40's) gave me a wake up call. Life is too short to waste it on yourself. I didn't know my mom wasn't saved. She was led to the Lord by the man handling my father's life insurance policy. Romans 8:28
The Lord has used these circumstances to give me a desire to help students have a desire to learn no matter what their circumstances are. I love that our school that I'm teaching at has a visitation program in which we visit each student's home and we are able to tell the family the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I Corn.15:1-6
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