Myra Elam: Helping Others Find Their Purpose

By Ethan Orwig

Have you ever heard of a trust fall?

Often used for corporate training courses or a silly thing to do with friends, the idea is that one person closes their eyes while the other stands behind them with outstretched arms. The blinded person must choose to fall backwards or not, discerning whether their friend will catch them or let them crash to the floor. It’s a game of trust and faith. We’ve all had trust fall moments in life, where you are forced to make a radical decision for the good of yourself or for your loved ones.

For Myra Elam, she wasn’t given much of a choice. Her trust fall was an immense leap of faith into the darkness.

Years ago, Myra was raising her children, three boys and a girl, in Gary, Indiana. Surrounded by an area of crime and violence, she endured domestic violence from her husband. One day, Myra sat her kids in the back of the car with nothing but two garbage sacks of clothes and a tank of gas, she took off down the road with no intention of returning. Myra drove north for hundreds of miles with no plan, no destination; only the promise that whatever lay ahead was surely better than what she’d left behind.  Hours later, she’d grown weak, and teetered along the edge of delirium when she saw what she was driving for. A cross.

“I kept going until I wasn’t feeling well, and I saw a cross on the highway,” Myra said. “And my eyes got fixated on that cross and I kept going until I exited. Things went black after that.”

That cross guided her until she arrived in Grand Rapids, Michigan where she blacked out upon arrival at the hospital. When she woke, she found herself in a hospital bed surrounded by doctors.

“I woke up in the hospital and I got what I needed. They got me reconnected with my children. I explained my story and I was embraced by the city of Grand Rapids,” Myra explained. “They got us a home, furniture- everything. The rest of the story is just history from that point.”

Whatever urged her to take the drive of faith to quite literally “God knows where”, supplied her with a new life and a better place to raise her children. There, she re-entered a stage of self-inventory. Who was Myra Elam?

“It took a lot of prayer and self-reflection,” Myra explained. “I had to do an internal inventory of Myra. Who I was. How did I get here?… I had to re-develop my role.”

Now a single mother in a new home and city, Myra was supported by the Grand Rapids community, most notably her church. Myra decided to go back to school at Chandler School of Business in Michigan while working night shifts as a restaurant manager with McDonalds- all while taking care of four children. It was on this salary that Myra Elam raised her kids all the way into their adulthood, until her

MYRA ELAM- One of Trenton, Tennessee’s finest ladies, Myra Elam prides herself as a woman of faith, hope, and perseverance

mission of motherhood was complete.

It wasn’t until Myra visited a close friend in Tennessee where she was instantly drawn to the warm seasons. While Michigan winters were cold, hard, and unforgiving, Tennessee Winters were not only tolerable, but comparatively pleasant. Now that her children had grown up, she was free to take the next step of faith, another move, this time to West Tennessee.

“I always wanted to move, but never did because I didn’t want to uproot my children because I thought stability was something they always needed.” Myra said.

Upon arrival, Myra realized that restaurant management wasn’t something when wanted to pursue any longer. So, she explored her options and bounced around different factory jobs with Save-A-Lot and West Rock in Humboldt.

One of Myra’s biggest influences as a child was her grandmother who taught her the importance of etiquette and how to fulfill her purpose. While Myra always knew how to care for people, she discovered her purpose when working at the Douglas Nursing Home in Milan as a caretaker.

“I’ve always had a heart for people and wanting to help them,” Myra reflected. “Even as a child, I always leaned towards the senior citizens and wanted to check by and do whatever I could for them… It (Douglas Nursing Home) was the most fulfilling job that I had ever had.”

While it was fulfilling work, it wasn’t enough to pay the bills. So, after bouncing between a couple other local factory institutions, the Lord led her to Dixie Paper Plates, where she was hired as a Performance Shift Coach. This was where her love for people was put to use once again.

“I work in the converting department,” Myra said. She explained that she guides workers who are considering being trained in other areas of the company based on their interests and skills. Just as she found her own purpose, she helps people find theirs. “Some people like working with computers and some like being a technician and preparing the equipment to make the plates. I have the honor and the pleasure of developing people into whatever role that they find fulfilling. That’s the role I play.”

Myra Elam’s life has pulled her along a roller coaster of faith. And it all started with a trust fall off the porch to find a safer home for her children. The Lord led her along to Trenton, Tennessee to discover her purpose; helping other people find their own calling. Not only does she recognize her faith, but she also calls it the center of her life.

“I truly believe that every move I made was made after prayer,” Myra said. “Everywhere I went, there was someone that I felt the Lord assigned to me personally. So, I’ve formed many relationships from all those different jobs. People have blessed me, and God has allowed me to be a blessing to someone else. Everyone was strategically placed. It was divine.”

Mrs. Myra Elam continues to live in Trenton with her husband Haywood, where she continues to pour into people day in and out.