So today's one word is from the very lovely Caitlyn. I've had the pleasure of getting to know Caitlyn this past year through our church's intern program. She's pretty rad and I'm very excited for what God has in store for her!
Hey, I’m Caitlyn! I am currently an intern at an amazing church called Glad Tidings, which is how I met the lovely Laura! I live in the beautiful city of Victoria and I absolutely love it.
So, here we go! This past January was the first time I had heard of the “ONE WORD” movement. To be honest, I was not too eager to find my “ONE WORD”, but by the end of January I felt that it was becoming more and more clear.... STAY!
Here’s a little history....
Prior to starting internship in September, my dream was to become a flight attendant and travel as much as I possibly could. In fact, I almost did not commit to the internship program because I had been waiting to hear back from an airline. The interview process alone takes months, not to mention waiting to be called back can take FOREVER! I decided to start the intern program since I did not think I would actually ever be getting a call back from the airline, but I was still hopeful.
Becoming an intern at the church was the best! It was such a great way to get connected in the church, make life-long friends and a great way to be involved in such an uplifting community. It seems like the first few months flew by and before I knew it, 2014 was here. Our church had been conducting a 21 day challenge of fasting/praying with daily prayer meetings at noon for the first 3 weeks of the year. It was great. Thankfully, I was able to attend on my lunch breaks (thanks to some great friends, SHOUTOUT to Andria & Becky!!!!). I was feeling closer to God than ever before and it was unreal.
Just before the end of 21 day Challenge, I received a pretty sweet offer letter from the airline I had been waiting on. It seemed perfect! It was everything I had hoped for. I was soooooo excited! In my head, it seemed like the absolute perfect timing as my then current job was coming to an end in February. But the only thing was, I had 48hrs to respond. How on earth was I supposed to make such a HUGE life decision in two days?
Immediately I was ready to accept the offer. According to my family and friends, this was a no brainer! But my heart was saying something different....STAY. I made so many pro/con lists, talked it out with good friends, and sought out advice from leaders. I was a wreck. Surely, God couldn’t be asking me to give up my dream. I would soon be unemployed and the offered starting salary was double what I was making. This was all wrong! The moment I started praying and seeking God’s will I knew I needed to just STAY.
BUT...that was definitely not the answer I wanted to hear! I wanted to hear GO, SOAR, FLY...anything but STAY. In fact, I did not even accept what God was telling me! I tried to convince myself that I needed to take this opportunity of a lifetime. So I responded to the offer. I scanned two copies, one to the airline and one to myself just to be sure. Immediately I knew I had made the wrong choice but I was totally in denial. God was calling me to stay and I was trying to run in the opposite direction! Then I came across this scripture passage...
“I don’t think the way you think.
The way you work isn’t the way I work.”
God’s Decree.
For as the sky soars high above earth,
so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
and the way I think is beyond the way you think.
Just as rain and snow descend from the skies
and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth,
Doing their work of making things grow and blossom,
producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,
So will the words that come out of my mouth
not come back empty-handed.
They’ll do the work I sent them to do,
they’ll complete the assignment I gave them."
So you’ll go out in joy,
you’ll be led into a whole and complete life
Isaiah 55: 8-13 (MSG)
A few things really got my attention in the passage...
1. I don’t think the way you think.
The way you work isn’t the way I work.”
God’s Decree.
For as the sky soars high above earth,
so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
and the way I think is beyond the way you think
God seriously knows what is best! Obviously! He is in control. Always has been, always will be. I needed to trust Him!!
2. They’ll do the work I sent them to do,
they’ll complete the assignment I gave them
One thing I have really been learning is that what God starts, He finishes! He’s not going to leave us hanging half way. He is right there beside us, cheering us on to run the race marked out before us! He’s Emmanuel, GOD WITH US. He NEVER leaves us or forsakes us!
3. So you’ll go out in JOY, you’ll be led into a whole and complete life
God is FOR us, not against us! JESUS is the ONLY one who can bring true wholeness. I honestly believe that by obeying God, He will lead me into a whole and complete life- better than I can even think or imagine!
I knew what I needed to do. It was hard choice! So, there I was….soon to be unemployed but learning to trust God. OH, and just in case I still really wasn’t sure I was hearing God correctly…the airline later emailed me saying “Sorry, it looks like you didn’t get back to us. Best of luck on your future endeavours!” HA! I feel like God totally has a sense of humour. But guess what? I WAS RELIEVED! For me, that was a confirmation that I had made the right choice.
Today, I am happy to report that I am employed! All in God’s perfect timing, things slowly started coming back together. But those next few weeks were not all warm and cozy! There were many nights I stayed up tossing and turning wondering what I was going to do next. Every day of being unemployed I felt like a failure. There were seeds of disappointment growing in my heart and part of me felt like I had made the biggest mistake. But I knew what God had said, I knew He had a plan, but I just couldn’t see it. And it was frustrating! I am very much someone who likes to have a detailed plan! Everyday I had to make the choice to trust Him. “He knows the plans He has for me..”, I said that over and over until I truly started to believe that YES, He was speaking to me too! But guess what, I’m not perfect. There were many days I made the wrong choice and chose worry over faith. But I am so thankful that we serve a God who is unchanging, who loves us so unconditionally and is with us until the very end!!
All in God’s perfect timing, things slowly started coming back together. Each day I chose faith over worry God began speaking so clearly to me about why I needed to stay. As someone who had quite an unstable past, always moving around, never really following through with anything, this was a big deal. STAY? Like…forever? That did not sound appealing. I do not even know how to do that. I’d been to 22 schools and moved more times than I can remember. When things get uncomfortable I like to have the option of a quick escape route. But He began to speak to me about the importance of having roots and being planted. He started showing me even in the lives of people around me the importance of stability, of being connected. Most importantly, He’s been revealing that He ALONE is my security, my stability, and my safe place! God has seriously moved mountains in my life to get me to this place.
We are all on a journey and He will never, ever give up on us. EVERY SINGE DAY I want to choose to trust Him with every area of my life! God’s way is the best way! Even though I have no idea what the road ahead holds, I am SO confident that the best is yet to come in my life…and YOURS!
