Walking up and down the Scottish coast, Diana Verhagen cried. Not because of the beauty of jagged cliffs or the biting wind against her face, but of what she had given up to be there. In a foreign land with two part-time jobs and a child on the way, there was nothing for her to do but cry, make juice and pray.
After graduating from Taylor University with a degree in English literature and international relations in 2012, Verhagen began her vocational journey working with the Irish studies program. She moved to Ireland with her husband Koert.
While she was living her dream working with college students in Ireland, her husband began to apply for graduate programs in the hopes of becoming a professor and researcher.
“It's a really great gift to make decisions with someone,” she said. “It also is really hard because you have to figure out whose dreams you're going to pursue.”
Koert’s eventual acceptance to the University of St. Andrews in Scotland meant Diana had a decision to make — would she stay in Ireland and live her dream, or sacrifice her dreams so her husband could live his?
The choice was not simple and separated their family for months, until she finally made the choice to leave her position and follow Koert to Scotland. There, she worked multiple part-time jobs to make enough money to live, including a job in grant management at the University of St. Andrews.
“I think that sort of solidified my work in higher (education), and I think it's funny, because looking back, none of that was stuff that I really loved doing, but I think there's something to be said for doing good work where you're at and that can lead to better opportunities,” Diana said.
And then her life changed in an instant. She was pregnant with her first child, and did not have enough money saved to go on maternity leave. Her original plan was to take one week off of work, joking that she was used to the fast-paced “American” way of life.
The day after she learned she was pregnant, a congregant from the church they had been attending arrived at their door, offering £2,000 ($2,621) so that Diana was able to take two months off work and be with her new child.
“God has given us the church as a way of (saying) we are not made to stand on our own,” she said. “God uses his body to care for the body.”
Throughout her vocational journey, Verhagen has used prayer to reorient her heart in times of distress, she said.
When she finally settled in Upland, she was not thrilled to be away from all of her friends and family. Initially, she even prayed her husband would find another job elsewhere.
“I think we can pray for what we desire, but we also need to do so with a heart of acceptance,” she said. “If that is not what God is going to give us, (we need) to be open to God reorienting our desires towards his desires.”
Now, she continues to search for adventure. She and her husband host J-term trips to South Africa and will be taking a group to New Zealand in Fall 2026 for a semester. Although her life post-graduation has been filled with uncertainty, she has always been sure of one thing — that the Lord has a plan for her life.
