The path definitely wasn’t what I expected, yet God was still faithful.
As far back as I can remember, God placed the calling of Children’s Ministry on my heart. I love the Lord, I love children, and I was blessed with a very clear calling and desire to work in ministry – specifically with children. I desired to teach them and help them grow closer to the Lord. I went through all the necessary steps to make that happen, and I had faith that God was going to provide.
About 6 months before I graduated, I was in the final interview stage with a church where I believed that I would joyfully serve. With my husband wanting to attend grad school and work full-time, there were a lot of pieces that we wanted to fall into place when it came to where I would do ministry. The church where I thought I would serve was close to family and close to where my husband’s graduate program would be. I felt confident that God had laid everything out so perfectly for us. Several weeks later, the job fell through, and I was back to square one. Looking back, I firmly believe that God was closing this particular door in order to open another.
I wish that I could say I had more faith in where God was leading us. Through the disappointment of not receiving what I believed to be the perfect job, I struggled with trusting God with my future and the future of my family. I felt God had given me a clear direction on what my vocation should be, yet I was feeling frustrated and discouraged when I believed that He wasn’t delivering a clear path on how to get there. I didn’t see how He was being faithful.
Fast forward to less than a month until graduation. I am ashamed to say that I was growing progressively more worried about God’s provision as I had still not landed a permanent job. Completely out of the blue (and out of the realm of what I even deemed possible), Mark Christian met with me to discuss the possibility of being part of the Children’s Ministry team at Christ’s Church of Oronogo. A church my husband and I called home. A church with a great staff and a strong eldership. A church with people passionate about Biblical teaching, worship, and service. A church that values children. A church where I already loved the people and felt loved in return.
In a time when I was struggling to trust God with my future, I was given the incredible opportunity to work with the Children’s Ministry team at Christ’s Church. The staff, volunteers, and children with whom I get to work have been such a blessing, and I believe that God worked through my situation despite my doubts of his faithfulness. The path definitely wasn’t what I expected, yet God was still faithful. He provided me with a great opportunity to serve at Christ’s Church, He provided my husband with a great job and the opportunity to attend grad school online, and only He knew that these opportunities were beyond what I could have dreamed possible even 6 months prior to graduation. He was faithful.
On Sunday, Matt talked about having faith in God in our past, present, and future. He also challenged us in our response to God’s direction. In Luke, we read about Elizabeth and Zechariah, faithful servants of the Lord who find out that they are pregnant with the son who we know as John the Baptist- a man the prophets Isaiah and Malachi predicted would prepare the way for the coming Lord. They had prayed for a long time for a child, but they had given up because of their old age. When God revealed through an angel that they would bear a child, they each had a different response (which I challenge you to explore by looking at Luke 1:5-25).
I pray that this week you spend some time in reflection on how you respond to God’s direction. Do you respond with hesitation and doubt? Or do you respond with acceptance and joy? Spend some time praying that God would mold your heart and help you to respond to Him by fully trusting in His plan, for He is faithful.
