Denver Seminary

ENGAGE 17 NO ONE WANTS TO BE TREATED LIKE A PROJECT. YET WE ARE GOD'S WORKMANSHIP—CLAY IN THE POTTER'S HANDS. HIS LOVE FOR US MAKES THE EVOLUTION OF OUR BEING BOTH BEARABLE AND BEAUTIFUL. NICOLE SIDEBOTTOM, A 2008 GRADUATE OF THE COMMUNITY COUNSELING PROGRAM AT DENVER SEMINARY, HAS EXPERIENCED THE THERAPY OF REINVENTION IN THE LORD'S HANDS ON A NUMBER OF KEY OCCASIONS, AND SHE IS ALL THE MORE BEAUTIFUL AS A RESULT. From her earliest moments, Nicole lived with the challenge of a congenital disability, characterized by weakness and lack of muscle and affecting the major joints in her arms and legs. She says, "I basically grew up at Children's Hospital in Denver, but my family instilled in me an I-can-do- anything-I-want attitude as I grew up. In fact, I didn't even realize I was different until first grade." Through elementary school and junior high, her awareness of her limitations grew. As a result, she became introverted, insecure, and withdrawn in high school. "I wanted to blend in so no one would notice me," she says. "I just wanted to be like everyone else. I didn't want to smile too much, appear too happy, or stick out." But the Lord had plans for Nicole. He gave her an indomitable spirit, which He began to rekindle in college. "When I went to Colorado Christian University, I let my personality blossom, and I started to shed those old fears and insecurities." That was just the beginning. "I basically grew up at Children's Hospital in Denver, but my family instilled in me an I-can-do-anything-I-want attitude as I grew up. In fact, I didn't even realize I was different until first grade." After her undergraduate degree, she enrolled in the Graduate School of Social Work (GSSW) at the University of Denver (DU). Nicole thrives in one-on-one situations of care and counseling, but she quickly discovered that the GSSW wasn't a good fit. After her first quarter in the program, she withdrew. As she left DU's campus, she felt a bit lost, both figuratively and literally, as the construction in Denver routed her past Denver Seminary's campus on her way home. Out of the blue, she pulled into the campus parking lot, walked into the student center, and ran into a woman she had seen earlier that day—in the GSSW program at DU. The woman said, "Nicole, what are you doing here?" Nicole confessed that she had just withdrawn from the GSSW program. The woman said, "So did I!" They had coffee and a wonderfully affirming conversation, prompting Nicole to walk across the quad and straight into the admissions office. The following January, she started classes in the Community Counseling Program. "The woman I met didn't wind up coming to the Seminary," says Nicole, "but the Lord used that conversation to get me here." YOUTHFUL AND WISE "I went into seminary very young. I was just 23, and I remember thinking that academics were going to be my focus and that I was going to consciously put relationships on the backburner," says Nicole. "It only took me one semester to realize that I wouldn't make it without relationships." The Lord used Nicole's Group Experience class to continue unleashing the person He'd been forming her whole life. The group leaders and participants helped heal deep wounds in her heart left over from childhood. According to Nicole, "It TAKE IT FROM HERE Photon-Photos/iStock

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