All of us have a relational history that biases our view of various relationships, so I think it is important for you to get to know about me before you allow me to speak into your life.
My name is Steven Halbert. I was born in the early 80’s to Tim and Donna Halbert in Fresno, California. My dad, Tim, grew up as a preacher’s kid with two siblings—a brother and a sister. He lived in nearly every area of the country. My mom, Donna, grew up in a hardworking middle-class Michigan family with four siblings—all girls.
My dad had a career in sales, and my mom circulated between various professional jobs and being a stay-at-home-mom. They did a great job, and my home life was a very stable Christian environment.
When I was seven years old, my parents adopted an infant girl. Shortly thereafter, we moved from California to South Carolina, where I grew up and attended elementary, middle, and high school. I spent two years at a Bible college in South Carolina before transferring to a state school.
After college, I started work as a houseparent at a group home. I lived with and helped raise six to eight middle schoolers who were in the foster care system. That was a tall order for someone just coming out of college, and it grew me up fast.
About six months after starting work, I met my future wife, Michelle, at a conference. Michelle and I had just started dating when I was accepted into grad school. After just two-and-a-half months of knowing each other, I invited her to come with me. So, in less than one year, I met and married Michelle, and we moved to Alabama. I attended grad school for two years and received an MA in English. Michelle worked as a girl’s youth director at one of the local churches. Once my graduate program ended, we moved back to South Carolina. I began work as the director of children’s services at a local nonprofit. On any given night, we had seventy-five to a hundred children in foster care. And Michelle started work as a photographer (which is one reason we have really great pictures)!
After two-and-a-half-years of being back in South Carolina, Michelle gave birth to our daughter, Sophie, in 2010. I will never forget that Michelle told me she was pregnant on April Fool’s Day. Ha!
In August of the next year, I left the foster care ministry and started a job in marketing at a local manufacturer. In 2013, our son, Andrew, was born. I remember his birthday, because it is exactly halfway to Christmas—prime position for receiving the maximum amount of presents from doting grandparents. I still work for that manufacturer, but now as a product manager.
That is my life in a nutshell. A lot of stories in my writing are derived from my life and experiences. And now you have a framework in which to place those stories. This is important, because the defining moments of all of our lives center around people. Even when we think that a moment centers on our careers or a particular accomplishment, it is typically the relationships shaping those career experiences or life accomplishments that stand the test of time and outlast the moment itself. That is why focusing on our relationships is so critical.
Additional Resources
If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy my book on relational theology The Relational God :
Additional Thoughts
This post is part of a group of reflections About Life. These posts are generally a little more personal . . . kind of like a digital diary. Many times I’m using these posts to work through something in my own life.
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