In the Center of God's Will

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Life never seems to turn out like we plan, does it?  We chart out our path, thinking, for some reason, that there will be no twist and turns along the way that we can't see.  Life just hasn't worked out for Jeremy and I like we envisioned it a year ago when we got engaged.  We had planned for Jeremy to find a full time job in the ministry sometime in the Spring semester of his last year at Liberty, for him to start a job a couple of months before the wedding, and for me to move in to whatever apartment or house he had found after we got married.  It seemed like a good plan.  It seemed like a God-glorifying plan.  But it wasn't God's plan, it was ours. 

"The mind of man plans his ways, but the Lord directs his steps."  Proverbs 16:9

We started applying for jobs in November.  Seven months later, we still don't have a job lined up.  I don't think I ever thought to myself that it could possibly take this long to find a job.  But when you're working with churches, the timelines can sometimes be drawn out.  They accept resumes for a month to 3 months, they interview for one to two months, they do second rounds of interviews with a few candidates, lasting another month, they pray about it for a few weeks, they have the final candidate come to meet the congregation, the congregation prays about it for another week, and finally the church takes a vote.  Next thing you know, its been 7 months since you first sent your resume to the church.  It's hard.  But it's life, and it's the way it has to work.  We just for some reason didn't expect it. 

We've had things seem so sure, totally expecting to have a job within a couple of weeks, and then something out of our control happens. We've learned to accept that nothing is a sure thing.  Even with the prospects on the table right now, we know nothing would be finalized probably for another month. 

I'll just be honest, it is hard to deal with the questions, it is hard to deal with people not understanding.  It is hard to hear the question, "so where are you going to be living" one week before your wedding and not be able to give someone an answer, and then have to deal with the look of shock and almost panic on their face for us. 

We have heard many times over the past few months that God will put us where He wants us, and that He has a plan for us.  I'm grateful to be marrying a man who has reminded me that we don't have to wait until we find a job to be in God's will.   We know that we are in the center of God's will right now, a week away from becoming husband and wife and neither without a job or a place to live.  For some reason, this is where He wants us right now.  We don't understand it, but then again who can understand God's plans. 

"Man's steps are ordained by the Lord, How then can man understand His way?" Proverbs 20:24

We are waiting, hoping, and praying.  We've accepted that God's timing isn't the same as ours, and that our plans are not always His plans.  Look at God's promise to Abraham that He would give him the promised land.  What Abraham didn't know was that he was just a small little part of that plan, and that it would be almost 500 years before his descendants came into the land promised by God.  God hasn't ever worked on our time schedules.  We're choosing to have faith, to cling to one another, and to walk through the uncertainty together, knowing that we'll walk out stronger and closer at the end because of it. 

It's kind of exciting though, too.  We basically get an extended honeymoon, a time to focus on us and our marriage for a while without the distraction of going to work everyday and having to deal with the challenges of a new job right when we have a new marriage.  I think it's in a way a blessing in disguise, not one we would have choose, but a blessing none the less.  We know there are stressful days ahead, but also fun and exciting ones. 

We're taking it one day at a time, assured that we are right where we are suppose to be, walking in the center of His will, putting one foot in front of the other, and trusting that the Lord will provide.   

We ask for your prayers, that God would reveal His plan to us and that He would provide in whatever way He sees fit.  Be praying for us, one week from today we'll be getting married.  We have a lot to do between now and then, pray that we will be preparing our hearts while we prepare the details.