Week 10 - Sovereignty of God

"God's sovereignty is our greatest hope as we face an uncertain an unknown future."

The plans of the heart belong to man but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. - Proverbs 16:1

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. - Proverbs 19:21

When Noah and I returned from Mexico we were desperately looking for jobs. It was July so that meant that most of the "good" teaching positions had been filled, and I was certain that I would not find one. But Noah and I need insurance, money, and what we thought was most important, security. Within the first week of our arrival in the states, I sat next to a pregnant woman at the pool and as we talked my future insurance plans began to be formed. She told me of how her husband drove a school bus in order to provide insurance for the family, and just as we were talking her husband walked up and handed me all of the information that Noah would need to apply. This is Noah's third year as a school bus driver, and it has been one of our greatest blessings. But I continued to look for a job, and one became available right where I was living. Oh, I was so excited! After the interview I received a call from the principal telling me that I had been chosen for the position, but I had to pass a literacy test in order to work for the district. This was a counting lunch money kind of test, not something to worry about, so I went and took it. I did NOT pass this test, so I did NOT get the job. I was mortified. How did this happen? I am not a genius, but how is it possible that I took the ACT, GRE, had a license to teach, and had almost completed graduate school, but, yet, I could not pass a literacy test?!

Noah and I were back at square one with finding a job. Since nothing had come through, Noah and I decided that I would spend the year finishing my Master's, and then, resume looking for a job in the spring. This change in plans was not easy for me, and I was so upset. We were both upset. Noah was supposed to begin seminary. We had our plans on how we would serve and provide for our family. Within a few months, and through a few connections, I got an incredible job teaching English Language Learners in a nearby district. (It is very rare to get a job within a district in October.) My supervisor even agreed to work with my schedule so that I could continue with my plans to finish graduate school that year.

By December I discovered that I was pregnant, and by spring time we found out that sweet baby was Magdalena and how special she would be.

I tell you this long and extremely embarrassing story because this was not Plan B. This was God's Plan A, and by my "inability" to count milk money on the day of the literacy test, Noah and I would be blessed with an amazing work atmosphere for three years. If I had not gone ahead with graduate school, I don't see how I would have finished once Magdalena arrived, and now, having the opportunity to work from home. Or how I would work with people who allowed me room to break down realizing that work was important but not as important as family. (love ya, Kam!)

God does not make mistakes or wrong choices. He uses the sin (diseases and chromosome issues) to mold and shape us into who is wants us to be. Each of us are created in His image, and our lives glorify Him. "God's plan for your life is unfolding, and nothing and nobody can hinder it-not even Satan, not your spouse or your ex-spouse, not your sickness. Whatever is happening in your life, you can welcome it as God's sovereign Plan A. God carries out his own good purposes without mistakes or regrets, and his plan is never thwarted." - Nancy Guthrie

We do not always know why God chooses certain suffering amongst some and not others, but he is molding us. Sometimes he chooses to reveal this to us, and sometimes not. He has used so many of you to show me how Magdalena was used. Every email, comment, and letter has been another reminder that Magdalena was used, and in her life she did exactly what God created her for, to be in His image and to glorify Him.

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. - Ephesians 2:10