The time that has followed God changing our plans, Alex and I have been able to relate to almost every major Bible story. Every story in which a person is following a promise from God, we plug ourselves into it, and the story comes alive to us.
My favorite passage in the Bible is Deuteronomy 8, where God explains the Israelites' time wandering in the desert. I've been in this place so many times. It is the story of a loving God, who rather than letting his people choose their own plan, brought them out into the desert to wait. I believe God has a story for each of his people to be a part of. And I'm thankful, that in my case, as with the Israelites, he did not bless my plans but made me wander until I sought out his plan.
This little snippet from Deut. 8:3, sums up my whole relationship with God, "...causing you to hunger, and then feeding you..." I don't know about everyone else, but I don't look for God until I'm hungry for something. And I'm so glad he holds back and waits for me to keep getting hungry, instead of moving on without me, letting me continue going in the wrong direction.
As soon as Alex knew God wanted him to teach full time at Owens, he did what we all do, he tried to figure out how to make it happen. At the time, a bachelor's degree was necessary (even though there is no bachelor's in welding), and Alex had never even finished his Associates. He had state certifications, which were what really mattered for getting a job in a trade. So, Alex made a plan to pursue a 4 year degree. The plan was that he would work 2 jobs and go to school for the next 10 years. Then, he would wait until there was an opening, which there hadn't been in 20 years.
I did NOT like this plan. I did not feel that Alex missing his kids' childhood and not being a present father could ever be what God was asking him to do. I begged Alex to really seek God on this. I said that if God had really called him to teach full time, then God (not Alex) would make it happen in a way that did not destroy his family in the process.
Alex started to pray more than he ever had before, seeking directions from God. And he heard God say very clearly, "If you are holding my hand, you don't need directions." When he told me this, I thought of our small son, Micah. Micah would hold my hand everywhere we went. He never worried about where we were going, but I would tell him where we were going so that he could get excited about it. Alex and I had the profound revelation that God tells us things, not so we can make them happen, but so we can anticipate them, and see that it is him when they do happen.
No comments:
Post a Comment