About Me
I take this page probably a little too seriously, but I am very aware that my “credentials” as a coach come from my life experience so I want to make sure all of my clients have a chance to read over my qualifications.
I was born and raised in the DFW/Mid-Cities area of North Texas by my amazing parents. My dad was a pastor most of my life, and we grew up on the poor side of middle class. I attended Baylor University on mostly need-based scholarships and grants, but graduated with over $40,000 in student loans. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in Linguistics (one of the least practical decisions I have made in my life), I stayed in Waco and tried to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. Over the next few years, I bounced from working as a music teacher at a small private school, to the Community Outreach Coordinator at a local non-profit, to a sales manager at a large hotel. I met my amazing husband, Shawn, when I was 25 and we were married 2 years later. After our first year of marriage, we decided we wanted to live closer to family, and God provided a job for my husband in El Paso, TX where he grew up. We lived in El Paso for 7 years, and had some of the best and hardest times of our lives. We paid off my student loans and his car loan, making huge strides forward, while feeling completely stuck in our struggle with infertility. We survived Covid secluded in our home with 2 toddlers under two years old. We bought a home and began planning for a real future in El Paso after 5 years, and 12 months later received the news that my husband was going to be laid off. We eventually relocated to the Aledo area outside Fort Worth where we are now happily settled with our 3 children, 2 dogs, and 20 chickens. We have a wonderful community of friends at our children’s school where I currently lead the Parent Teacher Organization, and at our wonderful church. I have spent many years feeling stuck, overwhelmed, and adrift, and I learned how to pull myself out every time. I have just about perfected the art of shifting your mindset to be able to enjoy your current circumstances, because I have needed to rely on that skill over and over again.
In many ways, I have been a coach for years. As far back as high school, I have been the friend you go to for wise counsel. My friends in high school and college all called me “Mom”, because they would come to me when they needed advice and support (I was also pretty bossy in my youth, but I’m sure that had nothing to do with it). One of the ongoing patterns in my life has actually been my ability to help those around me find a way through the difficult situations they have found themselves in. What I have always found interesting is that I see simple steps and systems where others see chaos. I started noticing early on that most people did not see the world the same way I did. In some ways, it has been difficult (like in my 20’s when all my friends wanted to go out and have fun, and all I could think of was the consequences of every decision), but it has allowed me to love and serve my friends in a very unique way. One day, a close friend of mine from college who I had been helping strategize about her new business mentioned that people provide coaching, like she and I had been doing for years, for a living. She convinced me to give this a try, and Rhema McGrath: Strategic Coaching was born.
Why did I choose coaching?
My Moto
We are all just trying to do the best we can with the tools and information we have.