Later that evening, I talked with a friend who's having a hard time right now, getting stressed out about a circumstance in her life that she so wants to be fixed. As I was giving my advice (helpful, I hope) about how she needs to face this, being her voice of reason, I was hit with an epiphany which of course I shared with her.
If it is God's plan, no hurdles will arise, walls will easily crumble at His command, He WILL make a way, will clear your path so you won't have to stumble on your way. If it's meant to be, it won't be a burden, you won't be stressed out worrying about it.This, of course is in general. Taking it in a relationship-perspective, I told her..
A relationship is something that should make you happy, give you joy, cheer you up, not stress you out. If it's really God's plan, everything will work out (cliche, but it really speaks true). You don't have to fix it NOW in your OWN terms, wait for God to smooth out everything, because He will if you let Him. Lift it up to the Lord.Now how does this relate to Steve Job's connect-the-dot philosophy? You see, this might not be in the perspective of a relationship but is still a great testimony to how God works in an amazing way.
Two years ago, I moved to Canada, leaving my whole life in the Philippines, risking it and trusting that I will have an even better life here. With cultural, social background difference and the language barrier, I had no idea how I'd get a job as good as the one I left home. I get pretty restless easily and by the time a month's passed and I still couldn't find one, I got pretty hopeless. And then I saw this ad for a job as a "Reporter" in a company out of Burnaby, BC and submitted my resume. I got called for an interview and wow I was so happy! Finally, some sort of fruit of my effort, right? Come interview day, with voice shaking and fear of a nosebleed (haha), I tried my best to answer their questions and prayed HARD that I'd get it. I am with that company for two years now. And my colleagues are a dear to work with and my boss is so appreciative of my hard work. As I look back to how I got this, I got amazed - this was my first interview (my only interview actually), I was the first one they interviewed - and I got it! See, no hurdles in the way, God made my path so smooth I was able to tread it gracefully.
I moved out two months ago and though I've said that God was so amazing that time with hearing my prayer, I don't think I explained why. When I called for the first time to inquire about it, the place wasn't available anymore. So, I moved on to looking for others. Fast forward a week after that, I got a call from the landlord who told me that it's available again as the supposed renter unfortunately lost his job. So I went on to do the necessary checking the place out and I loved it, and it's a bonus it's just 5 minutes away from my parents' place. Hello, free food (if I don't want to cook dinner)! But I didn't immediately reserved it, I wanted to wait it out until the end of that month to see if there'll be better options and so I could start paying rent later. When I finally decided to ask for its availability again, it still was, but I'm not the only one looking to rent it. There's another lady interested. The only advantage that I got was the lease-term, she wanted month-to-month but my landlord wanted a six-month fixed term. Of course, I was completely okay with it! Others were asking for a one-year lease so this is actually a pretty sweet deal. So see again, the walls easily crumbled, because God willed it to be for me.
Are you able to connect the dots yet as I have?
Looking back in my teenage years, what I envisioned for my life when I grow older was for me to have my own car, a great job, and my own place at the age of around 27. I got them all at the age of 25. Well, not my own place per se but you get what I mean It's funny because as I told my mom about this, I said, maybe I should've added a husband and a family to that vision, I'd probably have both by now too. Haha! But yeah I was career-oriented back then. Not much interest in boys (I was surrounded by girls, studying at an exclusive all-girls school) Haha!
One more thing. In 2009, I didn't have a great start of the year. I broke up with my then-boyfriend of three years so I was pretty unstable emotionally. But thank goodness God has already prepared something for me - He gave me great friends in advance from my work place who had been nothing but supportive and always cheered me up that time. We went on a beach getaway too which helped me relax so much. And He put new people in my life and old ones back to help me forget. They served their purpose well. And you know we always have thoughts of going far away when we're having a hard time to start anew right? I was given that chance as six months after the breakup, my family and I flew to Canada. But looking back now, it wasn't for that purpose at all. God put us in here so we can be closer to Him. It is here where we started attending a Christian church. It is here where I fully comprehended what it means to acknowledge Jesus as my Lord and my Savior, where I finally understood the words in the Bible.
See now? Try connecting the dots in your life, you'll just be as amazed as I am on how everything worked out for our good.
An acquaintance once said of God, "When everything is stable in your life, that's when He will shake your world and bring forth a change. So you will know how to trust and have faith in Him again." It may not be ideal for us, since change can mean a lot of things, both good and bad, but hey, if it's God's doing, it's going to be fine. There's definitely a sweet surprise waiting for us at the end. And how to know the will of God in your life? I've asked this to my good friend and here's what she has to say, "And about knowing God's will: you will know it, you won't miss it! God will shake your world upside down, and then you know that you know that this is what God wants. You will never miss it. God will say it out loud and very clear! I'm very very sure of that. He won't let you sleep, He will rouse you in the middle of the night to make sure you get it done."