What a year it has been. After a 3 month hiatus on life, I think I might finally be ready to put into words some of what God has done in my life in the last year. But to save you all the book that that would be I shall attempt the cliff note version.
2015 brought a year of change for me. In hindsight, God had been working on me and preparing me for this long before I was able to see the direction life was taking. But that’s kind of how hindsight works, right?!
So let’s rewind to January. January began with lots of questions. Which was loads of fun (please make sure to read that with as much sarcasm as possible… because let’s face it, questions lead to change and change is hard). Was I supposed to stay at the job I was at? If not, then what the heck did life look like? Where did God want me? What was I supposed to do? How do I even figure it out? I had a gut feeling (a.k.a. the Holy Spirit) that God was beginning to prepare me for some change in life. I, however, had no idea what that looked like or even where to begin trying to figure that one out. And so life continued on… and those fun questions kept getting asked…
This past summer God made it apparent that it was time for me to take a step of faith and just trust in Him. Through some people and moments that I can only give God credit for, I was prompted to start looking into some short term missions. Knowing that it would be good for me to take a step out of my comfort zone and just spend some time serving Him, I turned in my resignation at the church I was currently serving in and began looking into the possibility of going to Haiti short term.
So…. fun fact… I like plans. I like knowing what is going to happen and what is expected. I like being in control.
And God laughs at me. And then puts me in situations where only He is in control.
When I resigned, my plan was to finish out the year in the ministry position I was in and then head to Haiti in January. It should be noted that this would have been perfect timing to miss the Michigan winter. I hate winter. Alas, no such luck. God firmly closed the door to Haiti in January and opened another one beginning in the month of May continuing on to the months of June, July and August.
Yup. The hottest possible time to be at that latitude… EVER.
More importantly though… May?!
What the heck was I supposed to do with my life until then? (Insert momentary life meltdown here)
Thus the 3 month hiatus from life, beginning with a little pity party for myself and my plans. It was such a good plan. Leave my job, two weeks later leave for Haiti, spend a few months serving there, miss the Michigan winter, be back just in time to enjoy the Michigan summer, and figure out what to do with life in the fall. The pieces all fit together so well!!!
You know what I learned? I am selfish. And God is faithful. Was I willing to give up my timing and my plans to serve Him? Was I willing to sacrifice some comforts and time to do what I believed He was calling me to do? Was I willing to trust in Him with what life looked like for me until then? After much questioning of the decisions I had made and battling with God over what I wanted to do and what I knew I should do, I committed to go to Haiti in May and chose to trust in Him to fill in that in-between time.
Have I mentioned that God is faithful? While there has been many days where I just wanted to cling to the statement ‘I just can’t adult today’. Over the last three months God has faithfully provided. As the pieces to the puzzle that is my life have begun to fit together as to what the next couple of months look like, I’m in awe at being able to look back and see God at work in so many of the details and through so many of the people who He has placed in my life. (That's another blog post for another day though).
As I head to Haiti from May to August, my goal is to keep this site updated with the many ways that God is working and the many life lessons I’m sure He has in store for me. If you are interested in joining me on this journey, I’m hoping there might be some encouragement in it for you along the way too.
And finally the question I dread getting asked at this point… So what happens after August?
Well…. I either need a job or a husband. I’ll be applying for one and accepting offers for the other. I’m uncertain as to which one goes with which at this point though. :)