Elaine Shannon

Hope: “anticipating a future that’s better than the present”. It is crucial in all areas of life. I enjoy helping families find hope amid challenges. My passion is working with young children and their families. I have worked in various roles since beginning to babysit as a teenager. These have included daycare provider, Parents as Teachers parent educator, nutrition facilitator, Sunday School teacher, and public-school teacher/diagnostician. In all these roles I have tried to share hope with the families for it is the hope given to me through Christ’s death and resurrection that has sustained me through the tough times and helped me to find joy in the smallest of everyday happenings. Parenting is a tough job, and it has been my privilege to walk with parents through some challenging journeys as well as rejoice with them as their children grow and develop.

As I approached retirement, I asked God what He wanted me to do after retirement. I felt He had a different path than teaching for me but something that could continue to support children and their families. When I heard about Connected Families, I was so energized because, in the words of one of my fellow parent coaches, “It is the perfect trifecta: evidence-based, spiritually based, and understandable by all”. I look forward to continuing to find and nurture hope in the lives of the families I coach.

My husband and I have one daughter who is married and has given us two granddaughters. We were blessed to move within a five-minute walk from their home after my retirement and are thoroughly enjoying being able to spend time with them even during their sensitive and highly intense moments!

“May the God of all hope fill you with joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

This definition of “hope” is from the Bible Project’s word study: Hope.