“Trust God,” advised Sarah Tucker.
Although Sarah Tucker doesn’t always understand the different circumstances that she faces, she has learned to trust God through it all. It has especially been important for her through some of her biggest struggles in recent years.
“Through the past year, I’ve been through probably the hardest time of my life because I had to take on the responsibility of caregiving for my grandpa,” explained Sarah. “It was such a short time between my aunt passing away and my grandpa passing away, and our family is so small that the responsibility was basically mine and my dad’s. I feel like through this experience and other things that the verse Jeremiah 29:11 has been something that I’ve stood on the most in the past year. I remember that I don’t have to know the plans He has for me because He knows the plans He has for me. Every time I get in an anxious position where I think I need to know something, I remind myself that I may want to know something, but He knows exactly what is happening. That’s what I’ve stood on for most of the past year.”
Her family has always been important to her. She can easily remember the joy she felt when she spent time with each person in her family when she was growing up.
“A memory that I have with my dad is where he would take me to the races at Whynot. That’s mostly what we did together,” Sarah reminisced. “With my mom, we went to church all the time when I was growing up. If my siblings and I weren’t at church with my mom, then we would be playing outside and things like that. We didn’t go on a whole lot of vacations or anything like that, but we did have fun at home together.”
When she graduated from high school, she decided to attain a degree in something that she was passionate about. Although she was able to go straight into her dream career once she got her degree, she still remembers the part-time job she maintained while still in school.
“I graduated from Enterprise High School in 2014, and then I went into the dental assistant program at MCC,” informed Sarah. “When I was in school, I worked at a daycare, so I’ve pretty much always worked with kids. While I was schooling, I worked at the Shepherd’s Staff in Enterprise.”
She continued working with kids after college since she found a position as a pediatric dental assistant. Her job is something that she loves, and it keeps her on her toes since kids tend to say and do the unexpected.
“My job is something I was always interested in after my experience from my own dental treatment,” expressed Sarah. “I went to Dr. Traxler in Quitman for years, and then I had to have orthodontics and specialty dentistry because I had teeth in all different directions. It just kind of got me interested in doing it. Of course, while I was in school, I came and worked for clinical experience at Happy Smiles. I feel like working with kids is kind of like Forest Gump’s box of chocolates: you never know what you’re going to get. It’s always interesting; nothing is really ever the same. Kids can be sweet, and then some kids can be not so sweet. They always know how to make you laugh, though. I’ve definitely heard it all. I’ve been told that I have a big head. I’ve been bitten twice, so I can say that I don’t get bitten very often.”
For eight years, she worked at Happy Smiles in Meridian; however, she recently started a job that is a little closer to where she lives. Now, she happily works at Pediatric Dental Group of Laurel.
When she isn’t working, there is something that she enjoys doing in her spare time.
“I really enjoy baking sourdough. I’m into learning new things about that. Right now, I just do bread and cinnamon rolls, and I’ve done cookies. I really want to get into doing muffins, pizza dough, and other things like that,” proclaimed Sarah. “Most of what I’ve made I’ve given to friends that have asked to taste it since there are people that have never tasted sourdough before. I used to buy it at the store because I liked it, but since I’ve started making the bread, a lot of my family and friends have wanted to try it. That’s what I’ve been doing in my free time. It’s also just really cool to see. The very first loaf I made was so ugly. It was flat and didn’t have any rise or anything. Over time, they’ve gotten a lot better. I like seeing what I can add into it because you can add like jalapeño and cheese. I’ve made a cinnamon and raisin bread and all kinds of things. I want to learn more on that.”
There are also other homesteading type hobbies that she would like to learn how to do in the future.
“I really like to read, too, and I’ve been trying to do some other hobbies. I really want to get in crocheting and sewing and things like that,” declared Sarah. “I really want to try gardening. I was a little too late this year to plant anything, so I want to try that next year. That’s definitely on my list for next year. I want to grow vegetables because I really want to be able to can stuff. A lot of stuff that we have at Thanksgiving and everything is stuff that my grandparents grew and froze. I want to do something like that because they’re not able to anymore. I’m not a fan of tomatoes, but I would want to plant tomatoes. If I did that, I want to learn how to make salsa and things like that. My cousin has been learning from some of her neighbors how to can and things like that, and it really interests me. I know, too, that you have to have time to be able to do things like that.”
No matter what each day brings, she plans to continue to trust God with every part of her life as she continues to spread joy to others by doing what she loves.
