Our first Woman of the Week of the Paschal season is Lilyan Andrews, nominated for her work as a priest’s wife, mother, engineer, blogger, and--most recently--life coach, and for the way she writes to younger women about the struggles we’ve all faced and continue to face as we hold strong to our faith and values in an ever-changing world. We asked her to tell you about herself:
“As a Coptic Orthodox Christian born in Egypt, I migrated to New Jersey at 8 years old. I was blessed to grow up within walking distance of my home parish. Yet while being immersed in church life, it was a struggle navigating the secular world and holding steady to my faith and values. I recognize this same struggle in the Orthodox youth growing up today and want to help in any way I can. Besides serving alongside my husband, Fr. Anthony Andrews, at our parish of St. Mary & St. Antonios Coptic Orthodox Church in Queens, NY, I recognize that my ministry also takes place online.
“During the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 I recognized the need to connect with the youth who were isolated from church life and ministry during the lockdown. After my full-time engineering transitioned to remote work, I had a few extra hours in the day that were previously taken up by commuting.
“I've always loved writing, even though I've never been formally trained in it, so I decided to start a blog that would address topics I've seen church youth try to navigate. In April 2020, The Lilies and Thorns blog was born. I was amazed at its growth and how God was using it to reach thousands of people worldwide. I wrote about topics such as singleness, dating, cultural stigmas, personal growth, and spirituality. I was also blessed to be given the opportunity to talk to several youth groups in person (locally) and virtually (globally) on similar topics.”
Axia!
Lilyan Andrews is our first post-Pascal Woman of the Week, nominated for balancing her roles priest’s wife, mother, engineer, and blogger. You see her here recording a segment for a dating series for Logos TV (a Coptic television channel), not yet aired, and co-leading a women's workshop at the 2021 Coptic Women's Fellowship marriage conference. We asked her to tell you how she got started in her most recent role of life coach:
“The feedback I got from youth online who reached out to me after reading my blog posts was something I never anticipated. Many asked for guidance with problems they were facing. I could empathize with them because I, too, faced those same struggles while growing up. I realized that I had to get some sort of professional training if I wanted to help them effectively.
“I looked into becoming a certified life coach, and in September 2020, I started the training process. I am now an ICF-certified life coach and have seen clients for the past year and a half. It has brought me so much joy to help people navigate their relationships, singleness, career moves, and other major life transitions.
“Through writing and coaching, God has blessed me with finding the fulfillment I was always looking for in a career but could not quite get as an engineer. Although I am blessed with a wonderful job in healthcare as an engineering project manager, I find more purpose in connecting with people and directly helping them.
“I'm still writing posts bi-weekly on the blog and sharing them with others through social media. I love meeting with and speaking to different youth groups about the issues that I am very passionate about. I pray to continue this ministry as God allows me to. I also have a few other projects I'm praying about and hoping to start if my capacity allows. Projects I would not be able to do without the support of my wonderful husband, and the village of friends and family who are constantly helping me along the way. “
As always, we asked our Woman of the Week, Lilyan Andrews, to tell you about her morning routine:
“My morning routine varies with what life season I'm in. With two toddlers and a newborn, it's looked less than ideal lately, opting for more sleep than rising early. At other times in my life, I'd set my alarm early to 6 AM and try to do my morning quiet time then, but these days it usually gets interrupted by one of my early risers.
“Now I wake up with my toddler girls, get them ready for preschool, either my husband and I will drop them off, then I find myself in a quiet house before starting my remote workday with a coffee in hand. I spend some time in prayer and reading my Bible. I've also recently started handwriting the Psalms as a spiritual practice. I have found it deeply meditative, a recommendation I'd make to anyone who wants to savor the beautiful words of the Psalms. Doing all of this first allows me to better focus on the many tasks I have for the day with gratitude. ”
Thank you, Lilyan!
