This week, we were assigned to write a brief autobiography, Apparently, we will be required to share this as an introduction to each new class. Tackling this project has left my brain empty of all other creative juices. So, I decided to share my mini autobiography here. Why not? In doing so, I can see how God has shaped my life, and used people, places, and events to lead me here.
. . .
My name is Troy Renee Albracht. Oftentimes, before someone
meets me in person, I am often mistaken for a male. I blame my parents, but
never get offended when someone asks for “Mr. Albracht.” Before my birth, my
parents chose the name Troy Ellen for a girl, and Troy Alan for a boy. When I
was born on Monday January 12, 1976, my dad decided he did not like the name
Ellen. They named me Renee instead. I was not named after anyone special. My
parents simply liked the name.
Everyone called me Troy for the first year or two of my
life. Then, the woman who took care of me and my older sister decided to start
calling me Renee. My sister’s name is Tori, and our caretaker struggled with
Tori and Troy. The name change stuck, and everyone has called me Renee ever
since.
I grew up in Garden Ridge, Texas, a small subdivision just
north of San Antonio, Texas. I graduated from Canyon High School in New
Braunfels, Texas in 1994, and I moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1997 to pursue
a career in music business. However, soon after moving, I discovered I did not
enjoy playing the drums enough to do what was necessary to make it as a
professional musician. I did, however, marry a professional musician. Sadly, we
divorced in 2010.
While settling on a degree in Religion/Youth Ministry from
Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, I worked with Belmont’s Office of
Campus Security, rising from student worker to Assistant Chief. In this role, I
became heavily involved in crime prevention and training. I became a certified
Rape Aggression Defense Instructor, and shortly before leaving Belmont in 2014,
I became a certified CPR and First Aid Instructor with the American Heart
Association.
In 2012, I was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
After being in remission for one year, I decided to move back home to Texas,
using my training to start my own business, Strong Response—offering affordable
training and education options for CPR, First Aid, and Basic Self Defense.
Although I love teaching these classes, and although I love the freedom working
for myself affords, income is not stable, and I am currently looking for a
part-time job to supplement my income.
When I am not working or taking classes, I enjoy
volunteering at my church, reading fiction novels, and writing. In my church, I
am head usher and the president of our local NMI council. I also volunteer with
the women’s ministry and West Avenue Compassion, our food and clothing pantry.
My favorite authors are Wally Lamb, John Irving, and Fyodor Dostoyevsky, but I
enjoy all kinds of books, except romance and horror. I have written two novels,
and am currently working on my third. My stories are about how Christians, too,
struggle, but how their faith in Christ helps them overcome their hardships. I
hope to be published one day. I also
began working with the Rosetta Stone program to learn to speak Spanish.
I was born and raised Catholic, but I have had many disagreements
with the Church which led to me leaving the Catholic Church at the age of
sixteen. My first disagreement was because I wanted to become a priest, and I could
not understand why they would not let me serve Jesus in this way simply because
I was a girl. It took many, many years, but I have been able to forgive the
Catholic Church for practices I could not understand, and which hurt me
personally. However, I never have returned as a practicing Catholic.
I have always had a special relationship with Jesus Christ.
My first memory is of my dad getting so excited because his quiet little girl
started singing out loud in church. Jesus has come to me during many dark hours
of my life, and I credit Him with saving my life on many occasions.
When I married a Baptist in 1997, I began attending a
Baptist Church. It was in this church where I learned about sanctification and about
having an intimate relationship with God. Although we were close long before I
attended a Baptist Church, I learned about prayer and growing in my faith. I
got baptized as an adult in September of 1997.
Early in my career at Belmont University, I worked weekends.
The campus was a ghost town on Sunday mornings, so I often spent Sunday
mornings sitting in my patrol car listening to the radio. Each Sunday, I
listened to Pastor Gary Alan Henecke preach from Nashville First Church of the
Nazarene. I was enamored by his preaching-teaching style. I had no idea what a
Nazarene was or what they believed, but when I finally got weekends off, I went
to Pastor Henecke’s church to check it out for myself.
I fell head-over-heels in love with the missionary and
compassionate focus of the Nazarenes. I loved their out-of-the-box style. For
the first time in my life, I felt at home, surrounded by people just like me.
My musician husband was often on the road on weekends, and even when he was
home, he rarely went to church. He supported my desire to make NFCN my new
church home.
When I moved back to Texas, I knew I needed to find a
Nazarene Church. I found a home at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene.
During my first visit, the pastor invited me to lunch with him and his family.
Others made me feel like I belonged from the very beginning.
This past May, I heard God’s call to full time ministry. I
think the call had always been there, from my earliest days when I wanted to be
a Catholic priest. However, God used the people of San Antonio First Church to
reach me in a way nothing else and no one else ever had. I have found a family
at SAF, and look forward to many more years serving Christ with them.
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