A Fishy Tale- Part I

I'm such a type A personality that I am always looking for new goals. I have to know what direction I am going in and have a plan in place to get there. Like running a race. So to suddenly be thrown a huge curve-ball in my life that did not fit into my plans for this season  has taken some adjusting. Initially in my situation I related to Joseph in the sense that I felt like I had been thrown into a pit by some folks very near me. I realized, like Joseph, that I serve a God who can take any situation that was intended for evil and use it for good. So I started looking at all my options and asked God fervently to open or close doors in my path. I realized that life is less about the decisions that are made and more about our response to them. All of us are subject to some authority at different levels. Therefore we will all have to face decisions that are out of our control, but nonetheless we are affected by them and sometimes profoundly so. First, I have to tell you this is a major change from the person I used to be and I owe it all to Jesus.
When I was in my 20's I had a clear vision of what kind of doctor I would be. The institution I would work at would have ivy growing on its walls and my credentials would be highly respected. Let me rephrase that. My credentials would be impeccable. Of course they would; academically I had always gotten what I wanted and when I set my mind to something I made it happen. Back then, I valued what was man made, not God made. So when the Air Force "drafted" me into it's residency program and sent me to Ohio, my absolute last choice, I was upset. I had to call those ivy walled institutions who had granted me interviews and tell them I wasn't coming. Upset is not the correct word....distraught was more like it. I literally threw myself on the floor of my apartment and cried. Looking back, my response was downright pitiful.  I remember a mentor telling me, "Jennifer, when life hands you lemons, make lemonade." Back then, my spirit cringed at such a notion. This was not part of the plan and I certainly wasn't going to be happy about it.  I went to Ohio and completed my residency, but my attitude about being there was not great.  Of course had I not gone to Ohio, I never would have met Greg, nor gotten married to him or had two sons named Cameron and Ben. I wouldn't be here writing a blog completely devoted to how God is working on one life...mine.  God knew what was best even if I did not.

Guess what? God is all about second chances. So it is not uncommon in our Christian walk that he might bring you around a certain mountain a second time to see if your response is a little different. This is where God led me to the story of Jonah. I went to Lifeway Christian bookstore and as I was checking out I saw a book by Priscilla Shirer, "Life Interrupted: Navigating the Unexpected." It was like a spot-light was shining on the book. The holy spirit said to me, "Buy the book." So of course, I did since the title seemed to speak right into my current situation.
Let me refresh you on Jonah's story. God wanted Jonah to go to Ninevah and preach to them. Jonah hated them and therefore didn't want to go. Jonah was a prophet. Therefore it can be assumed he was a godly man who had an intimate relationship with God. He was living his daily life for God and going about his work in such a fashion. Why would God want to send him in a such an unplanned direction when it was clear he was living for the Lord? (I'm building up how Jonah and I are cousins)  Anyway, Jonah did not want to go, so he ran away. As the story goes, he was then swallowed by a big fish. In the belly of the whale, he prayed to God for the first time in the story and things turned around. He was literally regurgitated on to dry land and had "a second chance" to go to Ninevah and do what God told him to do the first time. The difference was, the second instruction was slightly different. The first time, he heard the Lord say, "Go and preach..." The second time, Jonah heard, "Go and proclaim the message I will give you." The second time, Jonah knew the Lord was going with him.
So, how am I and Jonah similar? Ohio was like Ninevah to me. I didn't want to go. Although I didn't run away (I would have been AWOL, if I did!) my response was just as immature. I ran away emotionally from God's plan for my life. Now, fast forward twenty years. Life has again handed me an unexpected interruption to my plans. I'm getting a second chance to decide how I will respond to it and this time my attitude is completely different. Why? Because I have walked with the Lord and I know he is going with me wherever He is sending me and the outcome will be for my good. My faith and my experience tells me it is so.
This past month I have been held in the belly of my beach house, and like Jonah, doing a lot of thinking. So I realize that prayer will be the key to turning this thing around. Here is the last part of Jonah's prayer inside the belly of the whale and I will make it mine as well. Remember, I started this post, by telling you I am very type A, so the Lord has a lot to work on here. I'll get to that in part 2.

"Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.
But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
Salvation comes from the Lord."   And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

Thank you God for how far you and I have come, even if we have to travel through places like Ninevah. I've come to realize that my walk with you it less about the destination (my eternal destination is secure) and more about the journey. As I stumble to move forward, may my story ultimately bless your Name. Stay tuned for part 2...a fishy tale.