Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Beal.
Hi Mary, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
As I briefly walk you through my story, I share how my life began and the journey that led me to where I am today. I was born the seventh of ten children to Rev. James and Luella Campbell Beal on a farm in southwest Georgia. My parents were deeply loving and instilled in us a strong foundation rooted in spirituality, education, and family unity.
I grew up surrounded by a large and close-knit extended family on both my paternal and maternal sides. Life on the farm taught me the value of hard work at an early age, and before the age of ten, I was introduced to entrepreneurship through everyday responsibilities and opportunities.
At just seven years old, my life changed significantly. After an accident, my oldest sister developed a brain tumor, and the resulting surgery left her visually impaired. I became a part-time caregiver at a very young age, an experience that exposed me to early childhood trauma but also shaped my sense of compassion, responsibility, and resilience.
Through every challenge, God’s guardian angels watched over me and guided my path. By His grace, I earned a Bachelor of Science degree and two master’s degrees. My journey has also included international work and travel, serving as a surrogate mother, becoming an author, and receiving several honors—among them the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
I give back by being a producer of the television show, “Our Global Family and the host for over ten years of a weekly family prayer line, and weekly broadcast on Facebook Live on the Women in Ministry Platform.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been relatively a smooth road because I was blessed to have my birth mother’s presence for sixty-five years of my life. My struggles were miniscule because I acknowledge the presence of the Holy Spirit throughout my life. Truly, I have enjoyed an abundant life, not because anything that I done, it was predestined. I constantly cite Jeremiah 29:11. “I know the plans I have for you , declares the LORD.They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope.”
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I have worked in the career field of finance and accounting for thirty-nine years. That included positions in accounting, financial cost analyst, budget analyst, accounting instructor, and a management analyst. I worked for Fortune 500 companies, non-profit organizations, and served 27 years as a civil servant in resource management in the United States Department Defense in CONUS, Europe, and Iraq.
One of the things that I am proud of is the opportunity I received to work on a special one-year assignment for the Secretary of the Army for Financial Management to compile the Comptroller’s Career Manual.
It is belief that the one thing that sets me apart from others is the mentoring that I received at an early age, along with the love of my extended family.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I am not a daredevil, but I have taken some calculated risks in life. I took a major risk on my first trip to Africa in 1973. I traveled with a university summer study abroad program and I took two risks during that trip. En route to the city of Mombasa from Nairobi, Kenya, I asked the professor if I could disembark from our chartered bus and visit a friend I knew who was living in the Taita Hills area. I promised to reconnect with the study group a day later in Mombasa. I enjoyed a very successful visit with my friend. At the end of the summer study program, I decided that I would stay in Africa longer, and traveled to Tanzania, without a job, only $400 dollars and a letter of introduction to a colleague of a friend from the university. I was hired by the Ministry of Finance and gained work experience as a senior instructor in the in the newly established School of Accountancy. The last risk I took was to agree to work in the war zone of Iraq at the request of a former supervisor.
Pricing:
- eBook Price $7.99
- Paperback Price $29.99
- Hardcover Price $34.99
Contact Info:
- Website: https://flipga.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marylbeal/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LongtimeTraveler/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marylbeal-ourglobalfamily/
- Other: https://www.mlbealconsultingllc.com
