Meet the Women at NAOBC – Laura Smith
On Mondays, we’ll take time to meet the women of NAOBC. Five questions followed by how you can connect with the NAOBC women on social media. Today’s interview is with Laura Smith.
Q: Tell us about yourself
A: I am originally from Radford, Virginia and moved to Louisville in 1993 to go to graduate school at the University of Louisville. I had just graduated from Cumberland College, a Baptist college now known as the University of the Cumberlands. After growing up in a small town and going to a small college in a rural area, moving to Louisville on my own at 22 was a defining moment. I obtained my Master’s degree in College Student Personnel from U of L and worked in student life at Spalding University for 7 years. At 29 I got married and about a year later I was offered the opportunity to serve as the Dean of Students at Ivy Tech State College in Sellersburg, Indiana. Another year later I started a Ph.D. program in Leadership in Higher Education Administration at Indiana State University. While I was at orientation for the doctoral program I found out I was pregnant. I was working full time, going to school full time and had my first baby. I was 32 when my son Ben was born and unfortunately my marriage was more stressful than my job and school put together. About 2 years later I had my daughter, Maddie. Within that year I completed my Ph.D. and started working at Jefferson Community and Technical College where I’ve been for the last 15 years and serve as the Vice President for Student Affairs. When Ben was 4 years old and Maddie was 2, their dad and I divorced and that was by far the most difficult time in my life. Thankfully, two years later I met Mike Smith through an online dating site. (People seem to get a kick out of that.) When we knew we wanted Dr. Cook to marry us, he and Jaylynn came over one evening to visit. During that visit Mike asked Jesus to be his Lord and Savior, not realizing that although he believed in God he had never been saved. We went through pre-marital counseling with Jeff Elieff and were committed to having God at the center of our marriage. Mike did not have any children, yet he had a deep desire to be a father and was happy to become a step-father to Ben and Maddie. I was resolute in my decision to not have any more children but God had another plan. He softened my heart and created a desire for another child. God helped me shift my focus from myself to being open to what He had in store for us. It was 100% Him because I was firm in my prior stance. I was 41 and Mike was 46 when we had our son Huntley and now nine years later he’s keeping us young. My Ben is graduating from high school and Maddie will be 16 in a few weeks. Life is flying by and I am grateful for the countless ways God has blessed my family and career.
Q: Tell us about your time at NAOBC
A: I started coming to Ninth & O when I got divorced in 2007. In the beginning I would come to the worship service, sit by myself, and leave without engaging anyone. Jaylynn was very kind to me and invited me to a BFG for single ladies but I was very non-committal. When I started dating Mike he came to church with me and we started attending the BFG taught by Jeff Elieff. Over the years I’ve worked in the nursery, helped with the Awana program, and served on the planning committee for the Women’s Conference. Currently I serve on the personnel committee and have recently started serving as an usher.
Q: What is a fun fact that most people wouldn’t know about you?
A: I was a theatre major in college and used to be a decent singer. My dream was to be a Broadway star or a lounge singer propped on a grand piano in an elegant red dress.
Q: What woman has made the most impact in your life?
A: My Mom has been an amazing example of a godly wife and mother. She has always been my encourager and my safe place. We don’t get to see each other as often as we’d like but we talk on the phone and FaceTime almost every day. She has shown me what it means to love others genuinely and to put the needs and interests of others ahead of your own. Her love for the Lord is evident in the way she lives and serves. When we were growing up she would tell my brother and I that we weren’t any better than anyone else and no one else was better than us. She wanted us to be humble but not intimidated. She worked hard to make sure our self-worth was intact, and not because we were hers, but because we were His. She made it look easy, and now as a mother myself, I know just how hard it is to help kids see themselves as God sees them.
Q: What is something the Lord has taught you in the last year?
A: There have been two events in the last year in which the Lord has put a spotlight on what really matters and how short this earthly life is. The first was the shift to working from home in the pandemic. Being at home with my children everyday helped me recognize how little time we had really been together. It was an adjustment at first but I loved all of us being home all day, every day. I struggle to find balance, and may have been working even more hours with the convenience of my office at home, but I could clearly see that my priorities had been way out of order when Ben and Maddie were younger and frankly had not improved much. I would never have wanted to admit that work was coming before my family but that’s the message my actions sent. Those few months when the world slowed down, God revealed to me how fast it had been going and how I was missing so much of what really mattered. Then, to drive the point home even deeper, I almost lost my Mom to the Coronavirus. She got the virus just before Christmas and about a week later she was on a ventilator. I dropped everything to go be with my Dad. I spent a month at my parent’s house and had a front row seat to watch God work a miracle. The doctor had given Mom a 10% chance of surviving and God brought her through it and she came home. I finally had the chance to return a tiny portion of the love and care my parents had poured out on me my entire life. My husband took care of everything at home so I could devote my attention to my parents. He demonstrated sacrificial love which endeared him to me even more. My relationships with my husband, children, parents, brother, and so many other family and friends have been strengthened in the light of prioritizing what really matters and being mindful of how short this life is. My work is a gift from the Lord and I truly do my best to represent Him in how I do what I do. But, after this year, I can definitively say my job is not the most important thing and does not deserve more time than I give the precious people the Lord has put in my life.
You can follow Laura on Facebook and Instagram @lauranaffsmith.
