Following in God's Plan

It was March 5th, Ash Wednesday of 2025.

I was sitting next to my husband, one of my best friends and her husband in our church over the lunch hour. I can’t remember what song was playing, but it was powerful as I found myself struggling to keep the tears from running down my face. 

After a few months of confusion and frustration, I finally felt the nudge from God that I’d been looking for. He’s been listening, he’s with me and his plan is in motion. 

While I still had numerous questions to be answered, I had this relieving feeling of peace that rushed over me. Let me explain. 

A Wild Ride

The beginning of 2025 came with quite a few punches, specifically as a parent. On top of sickness after sickness, our daughter had an unexpected dental surgery. And after multiple trips to the doctor for my son, we had a scary experience rushing him to the emergency room. Looking back, all of our situations worked out as they should have and our kids are healthy, but at the time it seemed like everything at home continued to pile on. I was burnt out and tired. 

In addition to the stress at home, things at work, for lack of better words, didn’t feel right. I worked for a mission I cared for deeply, loved the people I worked with and for the most part, felt confident in and enjoyed the work I did on the day to day. I also had incredible work-life balance and the expectation was set from within our company that family always came first. 

Yet, I wasn’t entirely happy. Truthfully, I was struggling during the day to day more than I wanted to admit. And while I could pinpoint small various areas that started to mount, I didn’t fully trust my own feelings in the situation. I convinced myself that it had to be a phase that would turn around for the better and that I’d be silly to think there was something else out there when looking at all the positives on paper. 

I engaged in ‘the grass isn’t always greener’ way of thinking for a while and really did my best to lead with positivity, but those feelings didn’t go away. Throughout this process, I leaned on a few key people in my life and tried my best to stay connected to the lord, praying instead of worrying and listening to worship music as much as possible. While I’ve experienced God moving in various areas of my life before, I wasn’t sure how to process this discomfort. 

Especially with the silence and little direction as I came to terms with the fact that ‘what next’ was becoming not just a choice, but the only option. 

The Call 

I was working out over the lunch hour as I normally did and a dear friend gave me a call. Being protective of my ‘me time’, I texted her that I would call her back after. She responded quickly ‘I think I have the perfect job opportunity for you’. 

It was March 24th, just 20 days from the emotional Ash Wednesday service where I finally felt God’s voice. 

‘Oh boy’, I thought to myself, trying to remain cautiously optimistic as I waited to learn more. In the last few months, I had looked at different job opportunities, but nothing gave me the ‘let’s go’ feeling. 

As I listened to my friend describe the type of person this company was looking for, I couldn’t help but smile. Many of the characteristics were what one might describe, very humbly, as God-given gifts. Areas in which I’ve not only grown in, but ones I’ve really embraced. 

Conversations were had and things were starting to make sense. I was relieved, extremely excited about the new opportunity and uncharacteristically, didn’t have an enormous list of questions that needed to be answered. And that was extra shocking as this role I would be taking was, for lack of better terms, very broadly defined. But what was so clear, and comforting, were the personal characteristics needed to not only do the job, but fit in with the team. 

In addition to the excitement, there was a little sadness too. While God had made it so clear that this was the next step for my life, I was stepping away from a chapter that stretched and shaped me in the best way possible - in terms of personal & professional growth, the wonderful people I had met and built relationships with and the development of my faith. No matter how excited I was, I was anticipating an emotional transition and I had to simply lean into that fact. 

Another Curveball 

Conversations continued and I’m sure like many have experienced while changing jobs, it was hard to have normal conversations at my current job knowing what was to come. Looking back, those feelings put me into overdrive in terms of trying to map out what the next few weeks would look like and how it would impact others as I was planning to accept the job, share my notice and prepare for my departure. 

As a type A, detailed planner in every aspect of life, I like to rely on the common phrase ‘I plan, God laughs’. And on queue, another curveball in life. 

April 8th. I received another phone call. This one from my mom in the early morning hours. My heart sank as I knew before I answered the phone what she was calling to tell me. My Grandpa Eugene had gone home to Jesus that morning. 

All of my well-thought out plans regarding meetings and next steps flew out the window as I dropped everything to go spend time with my family and prepare for my Grandpa’s funeral. And those days were ones I’ll always hold dear to my heart as we mourned, celebrated and spent time with each other. 

As I prepared words to share at my Grandpa’s funeral, I was reminded of his incredible faith throughout many ups and downs. And maybe even more powerful, witnessing my Grandma’s out of this world faith and trust in the plan as she gracefully navigated the loss of her life partner. 

In experiencing this, I was absolutely convinced that God was not only moving so diligently in my world, but showing me in those exact same moments that I needed to surrender to the fact that I have so very little control in the grand scheme of my life path. And this new opportunity wasn’t something I could do, but something I needed to do. 

On April 10th I confidently accepted the job and spent the next three days celebrating my grandpa’s life. It’s really hard to describe the peace and comfort I felt. In what should have been such a challenging time, I felt incredibly grounded and in-the-moment. And that carried into the next few weeks as I emotionally gave my notice at work and navigated my exit. 

Changing Me by Anna Golden was a song that filled my speakers and earbuds during this time. ‘How can I not be changed, when your spirit’s in this place?’ is a line within the beautiful song and one that resonated so well. 

It’s been about four months in my new gig. And similarly to my last job, it has stretched and shaped me, but in different ways. I’ve had to rely on those god-given gifts and characteristics and in instances, push myself into further developing them. It hasn’t been perfect, but it’s felt absolutely right. 

And that feeling has been incredibly powerful knowing just how God beautifully orchestrated the last few months of my journey and is continuing to do so. 

If you’re feeling lost, keep the faith. He’ll show up for you in big ways, because he always does.