November is the month we are reminded to be thankful. At the top of this year’s November list is my thankfulness that God’s plans far exceed anything I could dream up for myself. In short, I’m thankful for God’s sovereignty.
When Jon and I first got married, we had plans. I was
teaching and Jon was a bicycle mechanic. We weren’t going to have kids for at
least five years. We were going to travel the world. Open to missions, we
assumed God was going to call us to use our talents serving in another country.
In the middle of my first year as a full time classroom
teacher, I received an e-mail from my sister-in-law, Danielle. She and her
husband, Dave, were spending their first year in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Danielle
was teaching at an international school, and Dave was along for the ride. They
were living our dream.
Danielle’s e-mail informed me that her school was in need of
a 5th grade teacher for the following year and that I should really think about
applying for the job. Jon and I immediately assumed this was our calling. God
was going to use my teaching credential to get us into another culture, and Jon
was going minister to the local people by fixing their bikes and riding with
them.
Jon and I knew we shouldn’t get too excited yet, and that we
needed to pray. We prayed together, and separately, for weeks until deciding
that the next step was to apply for the job. We asked God to let us know if we
were making the right decision, and to open and close doors, as we began down
this road, as He saw fit.
About a month went by, and I was contacted by the principal
of the school. He had filled the position, but he would keep my resume and
information for future school years. Ok, God, you made that one clear. We’re
not going. We get to stay in our comfort zone, I will continue teaching, and
Jon will continue to wrench on bikes. Here.
Two months later I received another email from the
principal. He unexpectedly had an opening available and wondered if I’d be
interested in teaching 2nd grade at his school? Jon and I were
confused. Hadn’t God already told us no?
We prayed even more. We went through the necessary steps to
proceed down the same road we thought we’d been steered off. After a handful of
Skype dates, countless e-mails, and more prayer, I was hired. By the swiftly
approaching summer, we were scheduled to move to a foreign country, barely
speaking the native language, separated from most of our family and friends,
and teach in a brand new school. Preparing for all the changes was an emotional
bungee jump.
Next came the logistics: collecting paperwork, notarizing
documents, getting blood tests, buying plane tickets, selling most of our
belongings, packing, and finding a place to live during the interim phase between
an expired rental agreement and our departure date.
Summer came and we were ready. We had turned in our keys and
stored the few belongings we had left in my parents’ attic. As a
married-for-almost-two-years couple we were living in my old room, under my
parents’ roof. Waiting.
Four weeks before our scheduled flight to Ecuador, Jon and I
had just returned from a dear friend’s wedding in Mexico City. We had both
gotten rather sick at the end of our weeklong trip, blaming it on too many
carnitas tacos. But we’d been home for a week and I still didn’t feel good. In
fact, I started throwing up. Somehow I knew in my heart what the “problem” was,
and tested my theory. I was right, and I was pregnant.
To put it simply, my boss told me not to come. His wife was
informed of our situation and she told him to tell us we didn’t want to have
our baby in Guayaquil. The decision was never ours to make. So… we were both
unemployed, living at my parents’ house with one car and hardly any stuff. And
I was pregnant.
Sometimes I wonder if Jon and I weren’t listening to God’s
direction five years ago. Were we so set on our desired traveling lifestyle
that we missed the “no” God was trying to tell us? Were we praying for what we
wanted, instead of what He wanted, and assuming He was leading the way?
But my hopeful idea has more depth than that. Is it possible
that sometimes God is simply trying to see just how far we will go for Him? We
say we surrender all, and we will follow Him anywhere. But will we? Even if it
leads us right back to where we started?
How this experience has strengthened our marriage and faith
is immeasurable. A short list of God’s provisions in the confusing weeks
following our unexpected news includes: Jon getting his job back; me getting a
new, more local teaching job; finding an affordable and reliable car; the
perfect apartment opening up the same week we found out we were staying…
And a short list of the opportunities which would have been
impossible had we moved to South America: me mentoring a HUB group of teenage girls at ABC
through their four years of high school, creating eternal bonds and
relationships; Jon opening his own bike shop and becoming a well known
influence in San Luis Obispo; me becoming a mother and spiritual teacher to two
little girls who I love more than life.
My in-laws are still living our dream. But it’s not my dream
anymore.
Jeremiah 29:11 – “’For I know the plans I have for you,’
declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you
hope and a future.’”
