Rebecca Jones:  

In 1963, I graduated from Cross Keys High School and then entered Young Harris College in the north Georgia mountains. Although it was a 2 year school, I stayed there 3 years before finally graduating. I entered Georgia State University in the fall of 1966 and worked nights at the IRS in Chamblee until 3 AM. I slept about 3 hours and then attended classes in the morning. While there I met John Jones and it was love at first sight. We were married September 9, 1967 and I changed to the day shift at the IRS and night classes at GSU. Our first child, Rebekah Amanda, was born June 25, 1969. I dropped out of school to take care of her. After awhile I returned to GSU but with the arrival on July 12, 1971, of our second child, John Jr., I again dropped out. Academics were never my strong suit anyway. I never knew how y'all were able to do all that reading! We moved to Forest Park and I taught five year old kindergarten. When my daughter started first grade, I returned to school. My in-laws watched the kids so I didn't have to worry about how they were while I was gone. After the December 1977 graduation from GSU, I entered Candler School of Theology at Emory in January 1978. I had just learned that I have several learning disabilities and was given some suggestions on how to cope with "all that reading." It was amazing. I found out I wasn't nearly as dumb as all my teachers, my parents, and most of my friends thought I was. Using this little bit of assistance, I completed the (3 year) Master of Divinity degree in 2½ years in 1980 while being a wife and mother, and serving as the student pastor of Martin's Chapel UMC. I was ordained a deacon and admitted into probationary membership of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church in 1979 and was ordained elder and admitted into full connection in 1981. I then served as associate pastor at Lawrenceville First UMC, senior pastor of Flippen, Greenville, and Woodstock UMCs, was the associate at St. John in Augusta, and pastor of Pierce Memorial, Austell First, Bethlehem, Trinity in Clermont, and finally Hapeville UMC. During my tenures at Flippen and Greenville, I worked on the Doctor of Ministry degree from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago and I graduated in 1988. At last I was "diagnosed/evaluated" for my learning disabilities and discovered the answers to a lot of my questions about why I seemed so dumb all through school. I wish schools before 1963 had understood disabilities better. Maybe I could have been at the top of the class with the other smart kids. Oh, during the testing and evaluation, I also found that I qualify for MENSA! Me! Can you believe it? I still have a hard time believing those test results. Too bad I had to wait so long to find out I wasn't so dumb after all. Anyway, school finally became fun. Learning became one of my hobbies along with genealogy, crafts, Mexican Train Dominoes, and cards (Spades, Canasta, Hand and Foot, but not Bridge). It has been a long and blessed journey which I could not have taken if it had not been for the support of my beloved husb...Expand for more