The Interrupted Life

I actually wrote this back in February as an email to my Mom. I had been struggling with the fact that I had graduated college and hadn't been able to find a full-time job with the career that I wanted. Life wasn't going as I had so perfectly planned and I was frustrated and confused. I didn't understand "WHY" and questioned what I was doing wrong for a long time. I was reading through old emails today and found this one and it was a good reminder for myself of God's faithfulness and his perfect timing.

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Feb 2012: I started the book "Jonah" by Priscilla Shirer last night and I think it's just what I need. The first segment is talking about "the life interrupted." About how we feel like we get interruptions in OUR plans that we have for ourselves. She asked the question "How has your life been interrupted lately?" Obviously with me it's the fact that I can't find a job to save my life. MY plans were that I would graduate college and immediately find an awesome full time job at a hospital where I had the opportunity to move up within the company and that they would pay for my Master's too. I NEVER expected that 6 months after I graduated I would still be searching for a full time job. NEVER. I never thought it would be this hard. And I've really struggled with understand WHY I am having this much trouble. Why am I not good enough for someone at a hospital to even want to interview me? I know I'm smart enough to do these jobs, why can't employers see that? Is this not what I'm supposed to be doing? Throughout these 6 months I've really learned a lot about patience and being patient in God's perfect timing. I've also learned a lot about remaining faithful that God knows what He's doing! I'm learning to align myself and my plans with only God's plan and His will for my life. In the Bible study, Priscilla Shirer said that THE INTERRUPTED LIFE IS THE PRIVILEGED LIFE. We shouldn't see God's "interruptions" in our life as that, we should see them as divine interventions! It's not a negative interruption, it's a divine intervention. I need to yield to God and His plan...not my own plan. I know that God has a reason for making me wait 6+ months to find a job. And I can't wait to see what that reason is. Maybe it was just the simple reason to teach me patience and faithfulness. WHAT WILL I DO NOW THAT GOD HAS ALLOWED THERE TO BE AN INTERRUPTION IN MY PLAN?? Am I going to go where God leads me? God is giving me the opportunity to participate with Him in His plan for me. What a privilege! 

Priscila Shirer said: "God often sends us into the hopeless place because it's in the hopeless place that we can see the hope of God."

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Dec 2012: Well, here I am 10 months after writing that. I have a full-time job and, it's true, God's timing was perfect in orchestrating it. Earlier this year,Will had been serving as the youth pastor at a local church for just over a year when we felt God was calling us away. We struggled with the decision and had just decided to pray about it both separately and together until we felt a clear direction. I still wasn't working full-time and then with the additional insecurity of not knowing where or what we were going to do while Will finished up school... needless to say, we were worried. We didn't want to leave those youth we had grown to love so much. We finally decided together that we had committed to follow God's direction no matter where it takes us or what situations we come upon and we felt He was leading us to a growing church in Downtown Memphis who serves the downtown community and also the community of Mud Island. It was hard to say good-bye to the teenagers that we loved and that we saw 3+ a week. They had become our lives. Luckily we are in the same city so we can still see them every now and then! The exact week that we left that church, I got a full-time job. I don't know why I acted surprised at that timing. I know that God is in control and our obedience to him led me to that job. No, it's not my "dream job," but I've got a great boss and I know God has me here for a reason. 

I write all of this to say that even though I still pray for "my" hopes and dreams, I continue to have faith in God's timing and His hopes and dreams for my life. 

I think I've heard this verse so many times that I've forgotten the promise we have been given from God. No, this doesn't mean that we won't have hard times and struggles. But it does mean that all that we have in God is so much better than anything we could ever dream for ourselves. So when "our plans" don't go exactly as we thought they would, we should count it as a blessing that God has something so much better in mind for us.