If only I had listened closer to all the lessons in school and church. If only I had listened to the teeny tiny voice inside. If only I had listened to God how my life *may* have been different. But I didn’t. And there is no point of focusing on the “what if’s” and “if only’s”. Instead I choose to learn from my past.
This particular learning lesson aligns fairly well with the story of Jonah, but fortunately I did not end up in the belly of a whale…well maybe a metaphoric whale BUT we won’t get into that.
It all begins with my love of pretty things specifically pretty houses. God gives us lots of things that we feel drawn to. Some become our life and others just a small part of it. Well as a high school student being forced by my school to decide on where to go to college and what I should major in I decided that the best choice for me would be interior design. I was awful at math so architecture was out of the question, but I wanted to use my creativity in a huge way.
Well at the same time I was becoming quite the babysitter around my church. I loved it, and it was a great way to support myself through high school. I also volunteered in my church nursery on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights. When I wasn’t in school my life was filled with children. I am most certainly a caretaker at heart, and believe that God put me on this earth to take care of others..specifically children. Well at least I thought this for everything except my career. For some reason I had this idea that my career should be mine and only mine. And that I didn’t want to wear myself out on other people’s kids before I someday hopefully have my own. HA!
Okay so there may have been a tiny voice telling me a career in something child related is where I should have been headed. I ignored it and ran the opposite way.
Off to school I went for interior design. Funny thing is I loved it! Maybe (and by maybe I mean of course) God put it in my path for some reason. I made many good friends, and greatly enjoyed all the projects. Upon graduating I had three different job offers in a field that is known to be difficult.
I started a job that summer as an assistant designer to a local residential interior designer who also owned a beautiful retail store. It was what I thought to be my dream job. And it started out great, but after hearing AND seeing several of my boss Erica’s horrific experiences with nasty clients I started to realize that maybe I was in the wrong place.
Fortunately I was very much so in the right place. It is where I realized interior design is not for me, and that God had other plans for my life. It is also where I met many sweet friends two of which have become my closest friends. I learned so much about myself, and definitely was able to do lots of spiritual growing through my boss and coworkers. The wrong place never felt so right.
Well sadly Erica had to close the store this past April and so my job was no longer. Within a week of knowing I would need to find something else God had provided me with a full time summer nanny job. He also provided me with a weekend job at a neighboring store. I am so very blessed.
Here I am now on one of the greatest journeys of my life yet. Letting go of all my plans, and handing EVERYTHING to God.
“Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21
