Here’s a little story about how awesome God is, and how He provides…
It was fall of 2015, and I was at my wit’s end searching for a job in the field I studied. There was nothing. Every road I turned seemed to be a deadend.
It was around this time that I attended a ladies’ retreat at the church I grew up at.
I ran into a lovely lady who was a leader in my youth group back in high school. “Oh! I know someone who works in that field! Let me introduce you two!” She introduced us, and while my new friend did not have any job leads, she invited me to a group study on Sunday nights. Yay!
It took me a few months to actually go, because life gets busy, right? Eventually, I ended up there. The second week I went was their annual Christmas party. I knew almost no one there.
Something else I didn’t know was that this night would mark the beginning of an adventure I had no idea would even be a possibility.
It started with one question asked by one of the ladies in the group: “Would you be interested in going on a missions trip to Honduras sometime in March?” Sure, get me some information!
Cue God’s miraculous provisions…
Two days after that night, I had taken off work to once again try to find a job in the field I studied. Let me just say, it was a trainwreck. I got told I was wasting my time and should pick a different profession! I drove back to my job and cried in my director’s office (thankfully, she’s also a wonderful friend and mentor). An awesome gentleman I worked with stopped by and saw I was upset and asked to pray for my job search. We pray, he leaves. My director, who had known me since I was fresh out of high school, looked deep into my eyes and said “What else is going on?” It was at that moment I truly felt God telling me to GO. So I said, “you know, I was invited on this missions trip to Honduras in March. Maybe God isn’t letting me find a new job because I am meant to go on that trip, and if I find a new job now I won’t be able to go.”
We both just nodded and moved on.
The next morning I got a text from the coworker that prayed with me the day before, who also happens to be a pastor, saying he needed to speak to me before work.
Oh, no, what did I do?? Am I in trouble? (my thoughts when I got that text…)
He pulled me aside and said he read something in his devotional that morning that he felt compelled to share with me. I don’t remember the exact words (I was already in awe of the moment) but it spoke about going out on a limb, taking that leap of faith, and trusting that God will keep you safe.
I boo-hooed. How was this message so perfectly timed?
Pastor said, “I was told this morning about Honduras. I would like to speak to my church about helping you fund your trip. Is that okay?”
Of course!
I spent the whole day in amazement of how God spoke to me through these wonderful coworkers of mine, and used those new friends in my bible study to open opportunities to me that I didn’t think were there.
I decided to go ahead and tell my dad about the trip. Mind you, I still knew nothing about the trip other than it was to Honduras in March.
I told him all that I knew so far, and how the past few days had gone. His response was, “If God is telling you to go, you can’t exactly tell Him no.”
Then I received a text saying my down payment was covered.
WHAT?
Three days after hearing about this trip, I was going. I knew nothing about it, and I knew no one going on it.
The only thing I knew was that I was going.
Why did it happen like that? Why did God only give me three days from hearing about it to be going on it? Because He knows me so much better than I know myself. I would’ve been excited about the trip, then found a reason not to go. He didn’t give me time to turn around and blink, and no time to say no.
Because He knew I would have said no.
I won’t go into detail of the trip, other than it changed my life. I now know that missions will be a very important part of my life. So when God presented the World Race to me, it seemed like it was meant to be. He gave me time (a lot of time…) to say no to this opportunity. But I have grown, and I am blessed to say that I am rising to the challenge to live uncomfortably.
I know that this will be a long, and often challenging road. But God has proven to me that where He guides, He will provide.
And I am ready to go.
“Here am I, send me”
Isaiah 6:8
