Claudia Bishop used to worry – a lot. But in the past decade, the Lord has been teaching her to trust in Him. Time and again, her faith has helped Claudia face her fears.

Claudia’s Journey

Claudia’s parents instilled in her a love for learning while she was growing up in Mexico City and later in a small town in Southern Mexico, not far from Acapulco. Their home was always full of books. Her dad often took Claudia and her brother to museums, and she eventually earned her bachelor’s degree in communication.

Claudia says she never planned to come to the U.S. and “pursue the American dream” until she fell in love with Kevin Bishop and agreed to marry him. In 2009, Claudia obtained a Visa and moved with Kevin to San Clemente. “He’s the complete opposite of me, so we balance each other. He’s not a worrier, he’s very caring and he makes me laugh,” she says.

Baby Logan arrived four years later, and the year after that, in 2014, Claudia made a decision to accept Christ as her Savior. In Sept. 2021, Claudia made a public profession of her faith through baptism at CrossPoint Church.

Although she grew up in a Catholic home, Claudia claims that until she was saved, she never really connected with her Heavenly Father. “I would worry excessively about things – it wasn’t normal, and I was planning to start therapy for it. But after becoming a Christian, I started praying and giving my concerns to God. I’m not at all against therapy, but I no longer felt I needed it because faith changed my perspective,” she reflects.

“I still sometimes worry, but I’ve also come to understand that God places me where He has things to show me. If we don’t give time to Him and listen, the solution can be right in front of us and we miss it.”

Going Where God Leads

“I had always planned to be a working mom, but that changed once my son came along,” Claudia says. She took a part-time job as an office manager of a San Clemente swim school, while Kevin ran his own office supply business in Newport Beach.

Kevin wanted to live closer to his office, and after an extensive search they found a new home in Huntington Beach. Claudia recalls, “While house hunting, we were driving down Warner and saw Liberty Christian School. Something told me that I wanted to live nearby so our son could go to school there.”

After moving, Claudia commuted to work. To supplement their income and still be home with Logan, Claudia had been trying to sell products, from fake nails to investments, from home. “It wasn’t right for me,” she recalls. “My husband could see the toll work was taking and finally told me, ‘You can’t keep doing this.’ That night, I prayed on my knees for God to help me find a job and a place where my son would be safe. ‘Wherever you want to place me, I’m ready,’ I told Him.

“The next day, Kevin drove me to a job interview in Newport Beach. He took Logan to Liberty (on the CrossPoint Church campus) for a little trial that morning. When Kevin picked me up, he was so excited. He told me he and Logan loved the school. He also told me not to get my hopes up, but that they were looking to hire an office manager. I went to tour the preschool and agreed it would be a great place for Logan, and I filled out an application. The duties were very similar to what I’d been doing at the swim school. A week later they called to say I had the job.”

Blessed to Be at Liberty and Pursuing a Degree

The Liberty Christian Preschool Office Manager has now been in her role for seven years, and Logan is thriving at Liberty Christian School. She remarks, “I may have grown up in a more innocent time, but some of the things kids today are exposed to in public schools are so confusing for them–their little minds aren’t ready. We have been so blessed to have Logan in a Christian school and have seen him grow academically and spiritually. It’s also been a blessing for me to be able to go to work with my child and be there for him for the past seven years,” she adds.

Claudia also taught Spanish to Liberty’s 9^th and 10^th grade students for the past five years. “Although I won’t be teaching next year, it’s been awesome – I have nothing but beautiful memories,” she shares.

Claudia describes Logan as a rambunctious, baseball-playing, happy-go-lucky yet hard-working kid who gets straight A’s. “Since he was really little, I would drag him to museums, like my dad had with me. Instead of amusement parks, this is our ‘thing,’ a passion we have in common. We last visited the Natural History Museum in San Diego; at the top of our wish list is the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.”

Last year, Claudia completed a certification program in Human Resources at Golden West College. In the fall, she’ll return to pursue an associate’s degree.

The Peace of God Guards

In May 2022, Claudia completed a “very stressful process” to become a U.S. citizen. Now that she has her citizenship and Covid has waned, she’s planning to return to Mexico to see her parents. Two years ago, an earthquake took their home, and that crisis seemed to hasten her father’s decline. Trials and troubles are still part of life, but now Claudia knows the source for strength and protection.

“In His word, there is always something I need to hear that brings me great comfort, guidance and hope,” Claudia shares. “Many times, I’ve identified with what Paul wrote in Philippians 4:6-7 – ‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’”