Finding Faith: Part II
The previous article spoke of a woman who opened a restaurant with her husband only to have it crash and take her world with it. What was not explained was that the restaurant was only the beginning of something God was using to prepare her for where she is today. She told me, “God uses absolutely everything we go through. We don't always get to see the big picture, but He gets us ready for the next step.”
If God has a purpose for your life, one way or another He will get you to it no matter how long it takes. God opened her eyes to her purpose one year prior to the opening of their restaurant. She went on a mission trip to Guatemala and felt an overwhelming feeling that this was exactly what she was supposed to be doing with her life. She felt she had found her calling and had a distinctive knowing that eventually, her and her husband would be down there for a longer period of time working in orphanages.
“God will put a vision in front of you so that in the midst of the crazy, you have something to focus on.” God gave her this vision at the perfect timing allowing her to focus on doors opening towards her future, instead of doors slamming shut. When the restaurant closed, they lost their house. She saw this as God freeing them from being tied down to a home in America. Not too long after the restaurant closed, her husband had another back injury at work (he was also a firefighter) and this one landed him on disability, unable to work as a fireman anymore. This, she saw as God giving them money to be able to live off of down there, and freeing her husband from his job. Although her faith was strong and she could see the doors swinging open for their future, her husband was not fully on board yet. “It was as if I was constantly waiting for him to catch up.”
Because of all they had been through in the past few years, her husband was slipping further and further into a depression himself. He had been taking it out on her and her children for a long time and one day she had enough. After a huge fight she packed her bags and left. She explained her focus was never on divorce- she just needed a break. She told me, “I believe the last piece of our puzzle was when we split up, so God could work on us before coming down here”. God used that break to clean each of them up separately, then bring them back together to clean up their relationship as a couple. She explained how weird it was, but when they split up, she felt as if God was telling her the time was getting closer for her to be moving to Guatemala. At one point she explained “A house opened up for rent in Guatemala, we weren't even living together at that point but we decided to rent it out of faith that we would end up down there.” They rented that house throughout their split (note they were still living in America), paid rent monthly for a year not even knowing for sure that their marriage would be fixed... In faith she trusted that the vision God gave her would come true and because of her faith, her marriage was reconciled and they did end up exactly where God had intended them to be...living in that house as a family and running an orphanage in Guatemala.
This woman's faith truly is something else... Despite all of the obstacles, she had one focus and trusted God fully to get her there. Faith is trusting God in the bad and good. Faith is surrendering your burdens, not trying to fix them yourself, but allowing God to carry you through it. Had she wavered in faith, had she blamed God for her situations, had she quit believing, her story could, and probably would have ended up with a much different ending. God knows what He is doing. If we can grasp that, get rid of our own selfish desire to try to control our lives, know that God is a patient God, a loving God and only wants what's best for us...If we can put our faith in Him and in His timing, He will help every single one of us get to that. Let's be honest, we are all searching to feel a sense of purpose. Put your faith in God and I guarantee He will bring you to yours as well.
- a the word changes contributor