Tuesday, July 22, 2008

My Jonah Moment

"Do you want to make God laugh? Tell Him you have plans." Anonymous

The Old Testament Prophet, Jonah was told by God to go to Nineveh to preach. He refused and fled by ship to Tarshish. You know the rest of the story. A storm came up, they discovered it was because of him, he was thrown overboard and swallowed by a great fish for three days. After he was expelled, he went where he was supposed to go.
Seventeen years ago, we were looking to buy a house. There were some things I wanted in a house, but one thing I didn't want was to live near our church, because the area is a little rough. I said, "I WILL NOT live near that mall or have my kids go to that school."
Never say never. I think God said, "Oh, really?"
Guess where we ended up finding a home? Guess which mall I shop at and which school our children attended for a few years? Yep, on a quiet street right near our church, where I said I'd never live. We've been here since. Is this my dream house? No, but it is our home. I'm content with my life, and happy to be living near the church where we serve.
I haven't always been content. I think I went through my mid-life crisis early, at age 30, but I've since settled into the place I'm called to be.
God didn't put me where I wanted to be, only where I needed to be.

No comments: