Month: July 2012

Jeremiah 29:11   “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you not to harm you.”

Romans 8:28   “All things work together for good to those who love God to those who are called according to His purpose.”

Okay, so which of these verses are true?  On one hand, God has a plan.  On the other hand, we have a free will.  What if we miss His original plan?

My passion is music.  For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a high school choral teacher.  My plans changed when I met “The One” (or at least I thought he was “The One”).  And because he was “The One,” together we made a plan.  Now, I’m not sure how it all fit with God’s plan, but at the time I was convinced it a good plan and that God was okay with it.

Here’s how it went.  I took a break from college after an A.A. degree in music to help “The One” finish his Ph.D. in economics.  On the day, the very day that he started his first position as a professor of economics, he asked me to come outside on the deck to talk.  His “talk” consisted of, “I don’t love you, I don’t want kids, and I don’t want to be married.”  In hindsight, there were many signs of demise—but I wasn’t looking in hindsight; I was looking head on!  Devastation really doesn’t describe what I was feeling at the moment.

When I began to understand he was serious and was not interested in making our marriage work, I agreed to divorce.   This was not the plan!  I truly wanted to finish school, but was torn between “running home to my family” and living on my own.  I chose the latter and was not able to go back to college, and all the while I was thinking my day would come.

Then I met Joel.  If you have read the earlier posts, you know that we were married for 22+ years.  Life just gets in the way!  Especially if you are not strategic in planning and focus!  I never did go back to college to finish my music degree.

Fast forward to now.  Going back for a music degree isn’t my first choice any more.  After all I have been through my focus is very different.  I would like to be a counselor working with marriages and young adults.   With my four-month stop in Cleveland TN, I was determined that I was going to go back and finish college.  When the job situation did not work out and I was offered a “position made in heaven,” I accepted.  And here I am in Concord NC, outside of Charlotte!

But wait!  Where does college fit in?  What about God’s plan for my life?  He does have a perfect plan, but if you haven’t already figured it out, I’m not a perfect person and sometimes I miss the mark.  I am coming to realize God’s plan is a fluid organism.  As I make decisions, right or wrong, the plan is molded and shaped as God’s plan (will) for my life.  And that’s the perfect plan!  So, both scriptures are true!

Recently, I have learned that  Lee University has a Charlotte campus with a CAPS program – Center for Adult and Professional Studies.  WOW!  In order to give me some accountability, I am admitting that I have called them and am checking into taking classes!  Woot Woot!

One of the things I usually tell young people who are talking to me about whether to pursue a college degree while life goes on is, “You will be 55 with or without your degree.”  So, take it from one who is 55 without a degree, go for it!  Don’t let anything stand in your way!

Mark 16:15  “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”

Recently I took a vacation where I did a lot of driving.  And when I say a lot of driving, I mean about 2000 miles.  And, I drove it all by myself!  You might think that I am crazy, but I really do enjoy the time in the car.  I can pray, think, and listen.  My world is so busy, and I have a hard time making myself sit down and just listen.

It was on the first eight-hour journey that God spoke to me.  In just a very few seconds, He opened up this revelation.  He revealed to me:  1)  that what I was doing on this trip was okay and that I didn’t need to change, 2)  that He had a specific purpose for this season of my life, and 3)  that He wanted me to share my faith in Him to the people with whom I would come into contact. In that moment, I knew that I was getting ready to have opportunities to share God’s love and what God has done for me.

A couple days later, I was at an Outback restaurant in Orlando and our waiter, Tim came over to the table with our check.  I felt compelled to ask him about his goals in life, whether waiting tables was what he wanted to do or if there was something else.  He shared that he wanted to finish college, but he had gotten off track with some life issues and was trying to get back to classes.  I was able to encourage him to not let things keep him from his dreams and was even able to share a little bit about the Lord.  He told me that he needed to hear what I had said to him.

On this past Tuesday, another person came across my path.  I was walking into Zaxby’s and a lady, whom we will call Nita, came out of the door of the restaurant.  We greeted each other and then she asked me if I knew any restaurant that was hiring.  I told her I did not but gave her a couple of suggestions.  We parted company and as I was headed into Zaxby’s I heard a still, small voice say, “Missed opportunity.”  So I went back out the door and caught up with the lady.  I told her I felt like I should pray with her.  She started crying and told me that earlier that morning she had told God that today was the day for her to get a job.  As I prayed I felt God’s presence and I prayed a very bold prayer, asking God to give her a job by the end of the day.  After we were done, I invited her to our church and let her know that New Hope was a place where she would be welcomed.

I don’t know what Tim will do with that information.  I don’t know if the Nita will come to church or  if she got a job.  What I do know is that God will place people in my path and He will ask me to share with them.  That’s my job.  His job is to perform the miracles.  And, when I do my part, I feel so blessed and happy!  I pray that I will not miss any opportunity to share about His love and grace!

Proverbs 3:4-5  “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path!

It is never easy to trust God when you can’t see the road ahead or when you don’t know why you are going that way.

Even before Joel passed away, I was feeling antsy about what I was going to do with my life once Nate would leave for college.  Many ideas would go through my head every day, but nothing seemed to make sense.  There were (and still are) so many things I liked to do, yet no one thing stood out as the right thing.

About 6 months after Joel passed away, I began to experience a deep desire to  intensify my ministry calling.  Although I was in an administrative position at a church (Life Assembly, Mt. Juliet, TN), I felt like there was more I was supposed to be doing.  Through a series of events, I starting feeling the “urge” to move to Cleveland, Tennessee.  By June 2011, I knew I had to go.  I didn’t know why, I just knew God told me to go to Cleveland.  So, I turned in my notice at Life and moved!

During that summer, God worked out so many things to make it possible for me to move.  My condo was rented by some of the greatest folks I know and I was able to rent an apartment in Cleveland that was perfect for me and Nate.  In September I was able to get a temporary position so that I would be able to pay the bills.

In November I received a call from Foursquare asking me if I wanted to apply for a position in Concord, North Carolina.  After praying, I knew that this was the move I needed to make, and I knew that it was the ministry call that I was waiting for.  What I didn’t understand was why I needed to make the trek by way of Cleveland.  God could have easily sent me to Concord directly from Nashville.

At Thanksgiving, Nate and I were talking and preparing for the move, and we discussed the “why.”  He said he knew why I have moved to Cleveland first.  It had been a really rough semester for both of us and we were together to support each other.  So it was exactly where I needed to be at the time!

Trusting is never easy if you can’t see the road ahead.  But God knows the road and when we trust Him, He takes care of all the details, big and small!