Answered Prayers in Unexpected Ways

Tonight God blew me away.  He showed me that He does have a calling on my life.  He has shown me that He is not only in control of my life, but He is guiding my steps.  I am even more convinced of how real and active God is in the world after what happened to me tonight.  I also believe that I am beginning to see the reason God moved me to Tennessee.

I have always felt called to orphan care, and I had plans in my mind for a very traditional family style orphanage.  Shortly after I moved to Nashville, through different things that I was reading and seeing all around me, I felt that God was refining my calling to work specifically with human trafficking.  I spent a lot of time in prayer about this, and it goes without saying that this is a scary calling.  Just about the time that I had wrapped my mind around being able to handle starting an orphanage, God throws another kink into the wheel.  That’s just like Him, right?

Since that time, and through a lot of prayer, God started opening up Scriptures that confirmed this passion in my life, and I began to see ways in which God has been preparing me through the years for this calling.  I still had a big question in my mind about it.  You don’t just announce that you’re going to work to end human trafficking.  This is not a one man thing.  This is a complicated network of people, because a lot goes into rescue and rehabilitation.  My question was, “How do I even get into that network?”

Well, tonight at church we had a mission fair where outreach programs from all over the community came and had booths to share with church members the ways they can be involved in the community outside our particular church.  It is a great thing that our church recognizes the need to support the other community organizations rather than becoming inwardly focused.  This is one of the things that drew me to this church.  I volunteered myself (imagine that) to help with the event, and shock of all shocks, I was given the “write your calling” booth to run.  It was a big canvass that different adults and children in our church could write what they felt God was calling them to do, and then we are going to hang the canvass up on a wall in the church so everyone can see the diverse callings that God has given to all the people in our congregation.  Of course, I immediately knew what I was going to write.

After about an hour and a half of running the booth, someone came and relieved my post so I could go around the room and see the other booths.  It was fun talking to all the different people from the community, and everyone was so nice.  I was coming near the end when I looked up and saw a booth that almost made my heart stop.  It was an organization called “End Slavery in Tennessee” and the purpose of the ministry is to work with victims of human trafficking.  Little did I know when God was leading me to Tennessee, He would be leading me to the state that is the worst spot in the entire United States for human trafficking, and this organization is active in prevention and rehabilitative care.  The director is also the director of the International teams for Anti-Slavery Ministries.  When we met each other it was like angels came down from heaven singing “HALELUJAH!”

Needless to say, we’re getting in touch, and we’re both excited about the possibilities.  I’m excited to learn from this lady and when we were talking about our stories, it sounds like our journeys have been very similar.  I couldn’t believe how God not only came through, but completely glorified Himself in that moment.  I never dreamed that something like that would happen.  I had great ideas that I was in the process of working out, but as usual, God came in and trumped them all.

On the other end of it, reality hit and I realized that in a year and a half when my Masters program is complete, who knows how God will have prepared me for His plan for my life.  Who knows where I will be or what I will be doing.  I think the stories of other people and the things they have overcome are pretty awesome, but nothing strikes a candle to my amazement at what God is doing in my own life.  I can’t believe I get a front row seat to His drama.  If I could sit down and explain to you all the ways that things are starting to make sense and take shape, it would blow your mind.  And I’m sure that God has so much more in store that He’s just saving for another day when I forget how incredible He is, because sometimes I do forget.

Even in my Masters program and the reading we are doing for our classes, I am growing so much.  The practicality of every step of the way is amazing to me.  I’ve never seen anything like it.  That is one of the many extremely positive things I could say about this program:  the obvious practicality of everything we are learning.  I can honestly say that I learn something every day in my reading, discussion, and analytical writing.  Doing this degree program while discovering what all God has for me through the opportunities He is opening up will be difficult but extremely rewarding.  I’m so excited to see how God changes and grows me through the process.  I am reminded every day how immature my views on a lot of things are, but God is constantly teaching and refining me, and I want to be a soft metal for Him to mold and shape, like gold.  And I want to learn well.

That is my praise story for today.  Please continue to pray for me as I seek to do God’s will in everything I do.