This article originally appeared in the Winter 2025 issue of The ECHO Magazine. 

“The Bible declares that a man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.”—Proverbs 16:8-9

After finishing both my bachelors and masters degrees at Lancaster Bible College, I see now how God was directing me all along, especially after I accepted Him as my Lord and Savior at an early age as a teenager. Due to a teen pregnancy, I had to postpone my college education to find work. Hence, I started a 36-year career in the federal government, for which I will be eternally thankful.

Patricia Padgett / Photo by Sara Vars

As God would have it, I knew I had a desire to help others in a unique and special way, so I decided that after retirement, I would obtain a degree in counseling so I could better serve the people God would send my way.

LBC prepared me by facilitating the realization of a dream. I now have the tools, thanks to LBC, to turn that dream into a reality. At LBC, I met qualified and professional lecturers who treated me with care, patience and unconditional positive regard. I can’t say enough about my classmates; their prayers, support and friendship are invaluable. Much happened outside of schoolwork, and as the saying goes, “life happens.” Nonetheless, my LBC family made my experience an event I will remember and cherish for the rest of my life.

I am a mother, a grandma and a great-grandmother to 14 amazing children who God has blessed me with. I serve as the assistant director for senior citizens at my church, First Baptist of Glenarden International in Prince George’s County, Md., where I also lead an online sister circle support group.  I love the Lord with all my heart. I have a passion for helping people heal from their hurts, traumas and stuck places so they can be free to pursue their God-given callings. I am a passionate reader of Scripture and a personal journal writer.

I have also authored a book titled, “Inspired to Write,” which is not only a book to encourage writers but also one to inspire anyone who believes that God has called them for an assignment. It’s for those who have been challenged by God to go after the seemingly impossible as motivation for the creative journey. Writing has become an intimate passion I thought would only be between God and me, until one day God challenged me to share with others some of what He has made known to me.

After my studies at Lancaster Bible College, I feel equipped to serve others by gracefully combining biblical concepts with many established methodologies and modalities that aid in the sacred healing and well-being of humanity.

I am sincerely grateful for God’s grace and guidance, as well as my academic achievements at LBC. As writer Richard Bach once said, “You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it true. You may have to work for it, however.”

Lancaster Bible College alumnus Patricia Padgett (’19 & ’24) earned a bachelor’s degree in Biblical Studies and a master’s degree in Professional Counseling from Washington, D.C.