A New Direction

A new direction...

It's not always easy to go a different direction than you thought you were supposed to go. But when God is orchestrating the change, there's no way to ignore what's going on-trust me.

This past school year I've wrestled with a lot of things. Faith for one. Not that I don't have faith, but rather the continual growth of what I trust God with. My "plans" is another one. I've always been a planner. My mom would tease me and my organization because everything had to be just so. Even when something appeared to be messy, I still knew where everything was. I planned out my life from an early age. I figured around 25 I would get married, before that I would become a choir teacher, and around 27-28 start having a family. NO I'M NOT PREGNANT. Everyone always asks that. My point is, I plan...and generally I've pretty much stuck to my plan (although I did get married at 22). I did become a choir teacher, as I'd always dreamed I would be. I knew in junior high I wanted to be a choir teacher, and while some people in college still try to find a major, that was something I never had to deal with.

Well recently I've felt a great unrest in my soul about my career. I prayed on my knees so many times for the Lord to give me some direction and my answer was always, "Just wait, there's something big around the corner." Well, I waited (and probably could have been more patient) but I found that something big.

Beginning almost immediately I will be working for a non-profit ministry called Streetlight. Their purpose is to eradicate child rape for profit here in AZ. I bet you didn't know Phoenix had a huge problem with child human trafficking. The statistics are nauseating, but instead of sticking my head in the sand I decided to do something about it.

After learning about this industry that is polluting our state I couldn't stop thinking about this company. I mean, eat, sleep, work-the whole two weeks this place was on my mind. So I prayed and prayed and finally sent off a volunteer/missionary application not really expecting anything to come of it. God thought otherwise. Turns out one of my college roommates works there, and I've already begun the training process. God moves in some pretty miraculous ways.

So what now? Well, I'm going to finish up my school year at Mesa. There's only one more week left of school, and I will cherish the memories. Then, as I told Patrick, "I'm going to spend the next two days being a bum and sleeping in to catch up on the past year. But after that I have work to do!" This summer I will begin volunteering at Streetlight, and by the time they get up and running (hopefully around August...fingers crossed) I will be a community supported staff member. Talk about faith. Yes, that means people will be supporting me financially to provide my income. A little scary at first, but really when you think about it...God would never give me the dream and then say, "Peace out, good luck!" I know he will provide for all my needs! And after the details of this story have unfolded before my eyes, I can't wait to see what else he has in store.

So this is the new direction I'm headed. In this water I can't see to the bottom, but that's been a part of my own growth-pretty cool huh? So there goes my plan. Not out the door, but rather into the arms of the one who knows where I should be. And I haven't been stripped of my planning nature. Already I've smelled a quick breeze of the future a handful of years from now in L.A. God knows I like to have vision and organization; after all, he made me this way!


Make sure to like Streetlight on Facebook! And check out their awareness campaign company Branded.