I am about to tell you a story of what happens when you tell God your plans, as long as you surrender your life to Him, He will do as He well pleases no matter what you say :)
When I was about 15 or 16 years old the Lord tugged hard on my heart to go into ministry, He did not tell me which one but allowed me to decide. I chose youth ministry because I wasn't really sure I would liked all the others. The next decision was where to go for a youth ministry education. CIU (Columbia International University) seemed to fit what I was looking for, a small college with a great program that taught the Bible. After a semester or two at CIU I told God "I really don't want to work in the church." Then, months later I informed Him that I was not interested in going back home to work and the last thing I would ever do was move back in with my parents. I also told Him that as much as I loved my home church back in Charlotte, I would never work there because I wanted to lead mission trips, take students backpacking in Colorado, and change the world.
Well, after graduation, working at camp for a summer and going to OLD School the next semester, I am back home. Upon arriving at home my plans were to look for a job where my sister lives, move in with her and start volunteering in some kind of youth ministry while I applied to work as a missionary. My first Sunday back I was planning on visiting a local church (not my home church) because it came highly recommend. However, my car went to the shop that weekend, meaning I would be going with my parents to my home church. Within the first 40 minutes of being there, it was announced that my old youth pastor and his family would be returning to work on staff. Oh how my heart jumped with excitement!
I had been applying to jobs near my sister and even had an interview. A few days after the interview my old youth pastor, Dean, called and asked if I would be interested in working with him as an administrative assistant. All of those things I had told God slipped into the furthest parts of my mind and joyfully I told him "yes." I was not expecting to hear back from the company where I had previously interviewed but sure enough, within a few days they offered me the job. For the next 24 hours, my friends and I prayed for guidance and our prayers were answered. God gave me a peace about declining their offer and waiting to see what would happen with this new possibility. Before I knew what was happening I was having an interview at my home church and within a week or so I was officially offered the job.
Now, I will be changing the world by changing lives in a youth ministry program that I am very excited to be a part of. I started a few day ago and can already tell it is going to be challenging but am loving it! Everything I told the Lord I would not do I am now doing and am very grateful for all the blessing He has put in my life.
