When Things Don't Go as Planned

Not long ago something happened that changed my future. At least, it made me rethink what I had planned on doing in the next couple of years. I’m not a person who jumps into decisions quickly and I don’t change well. I have to be convinced little by little. So, when I got this new information it threw me for a loop. It kind of knocked me down for a few days until I could come to grips with it and get used to a new idea.

Something similar happened in our youth ministry days. We graduated from college looking for a place to plant our roots. We always thought longevity was the way to go. We wanted to move somewhere, become part of the community and live there with the people for the rest of our lives. For quite awhile it seemed like that was what God wanted for us too. In fact, we stayed in our first full-time youth ministry for about 15 years.

There were a few times over the course of those years when our resolve was shaken a little. As you all probably realize by now, things don’t always go the way you plan in ministry (or in any other aspect of life for that matter), but we met the challenges with prayer and resolve. And God always got us through. I believe our ministry was strengthened during those times and our personal relationships with God were definitely strengthened.

However, with close to 15 years invested in one place God seemed to be leading us elsewhere. My husband was not settled in his soul. The ministry was going fairly well, but something was not right with him. There was a restlessness within him, a feeling that something needed to change. We prayed and prayed (I, probably more selfishly than he. I didn’t want to leave our home, our friends, the place our children were born and felt comfortable). And after a series of circumstances, counsel from trusted friends, and a deep sense of “rightness,” we moved.

It was totally not what we had planned. It was not what we wanted when we first started out. Yet seven years later I can say that I am so glad it did work out this way. We still miss the people from before, but my husband is in a fruitful ministry in another place, our kids have adjusted and are benefitting from being in a new place with different mentors and opportunities, and we all have been blessed in this new venture.

That move was a growing time for me personally. It shook my core beliefs, rocked my foundation, and made me trust God more. Even though it was hard, it was good. I still don’t what I believe about whether God moves people from here to there, or if he allows people to make those decisions based on where they are in their lives, or what – but I do know that he used the experience to bring about growth in our lives. And if I allow Him to, He will continue to do that in all the other little experiences of my life, including this new one.

“ . . . he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6