When you think of what God is doing up in heaven, do you think of him laughing? I think he laughs a lot actually. Probably more than we think. He laughs at you, me, our churches, our organizations, our governments, our businesses, everything we are a part of. But I don’t think it’s a negative, mocking laughter. I think he laughs with a tender heart, cunning wit, and joy.
Have you ever said you would never do something? And then God led you to exactly what you said you would never do? That’s a fairly common occurrence in my life.
I said I would never go to the University I ended up at, but it changed my life in the best way.
I said I would never be an RA, and it was maybe the best job I will ever have in my life.
I said I would never study economics after my AP Econ class, and now I joke that Econ is my second love next to Jesus.
I said I would never eat a bug, and I’ve eaten enjoyed more than a few on the Race!
I said that I would never try durian again (if you don’t know what that is, look it up!) …and I did! Three times actually and, for the record, it was just as bad every time.
I said I would never allow myself to get lice, and in month seven, lice got me.
I have said to myself too many times, “I don’t see myself getting close to this person.” You know when you meet someone and think they’re really nice, but you don’t think you’d hang out much? Most of my best friends today started with me thinking we wouldn’t be great friends.
I said to my college roommates that if there was one thing I wasn’t going to do on the Race, it would be getting in the parasite-infested Zambezi River. I actually spent a lot of time in that river. I even had an amazing, yet wild, white water rafting experience and came out a survivor!
I consider myself a dependable person; someone who stays loyal to my word. I almost hate going against something I’ve said I would or wouldn’t do. With that being said, I don’t regret a single thing listed above. (No, not even the lice!) I’m sure God laughed every time. I’m sure he shook his head in a fatherly way saying “Oh, just wait. You’re so stuck on what you have in mind, but I have so much good in store for you. You may not understand it now, but you will.”
“Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”
His plan will always prevail. No matter how many ideas we may have on how things should be, everything will work out for his purpose. And it will be okay. It will actually be better than okay, because he knows what’s best for us. If you ask him to show you that plan and you have a genuine desire to follow that plan, I have learned that he will get you there quicker and life will be much easier.
Last year at this time, I had my law school applications prepared. My LSAT scores, registration fees, recommendations, essays. Everything. I had planned my whole life around going to law school. It’s also why I chose the August route for the Race. Upon retiring to the States, I was going to go right into law school. After a summer of running my own College Pro franchise and preparing for the World Race, I quickly learned that law school was not where I was meant to end up long term. I then assumed I would go back to the States searching for a corporate job until I decided on a business endeavor I was truly passionate about. In Cambodia, I sent out applications to jobs all over the country.
On the Race, it’s common to be asked if you could see yourself living abroad, doing missions work, or working with AIM in some capacity. Ever since the first month of my Race, my answer had always been no.
I said I could never see myself living abroad again. A year really isn’t a long time, and I have LOVED experiencing so many different places. I wouldn’t trade the Race for anything, but I didn’t want to be away from the States, my home country, for any longer than that period of time.
I said I would never go into missions full time again. Being in full time traditional ministry was an amazing experience, but I was convinced my next steps would be bringing Kingdom to a secular setting in America.
I said I would never fundraise for anything again. At least not for a position that I would take. Personally, fundraising was the most difficult part of the Race for me and I didn’t want to go through that again.
I said I wouldn’t go back to school. I LOVE school. Wow. I have actually missed school a lot since being on the Race. However, I didn’t think it made sense for me at this time.
Well, I am here to say that this upcoming year I am doing ALL of those things listed above!
And I’m even looking forward to it!
Click Here to head to my NEW BLOG! And to see where I am headed…. https://marykorch.theglobalu.org/
