TRUST

When I first saw this picture, it made sense to me. But, now that I live it, I see it quite differently than before. From the viewer’s perspective, the only thing the little girl has to do is release the smaller teddy bear, and God will provide her with something better. Although, when you look at it from the little girl’s perspective, the only thing she can see is God asking for what’s in her hands. Saying you trust in God and the act of trusting in God are two different levels.

  Last year I was working at a job with benefits and shortcomings. I was debating on whether I should change my whole career path and choose something else. Then, my wife was presented with an opportunity that would take us to Chicago for at least a year. I thought it would be a great time to try something different and take on some entry-level roles in other fields to see if it would spark my interest. I had never been to Chicago and had no job waiting for me there, but it was easy to trust God at that moment. Unlike the little girl in the picture, it was easy for me to release what I had in my hands and trust that God would provide.

A couple weeks before we left for Chicago, God blessed me with a job doing similar work as I had done previously but for a smaller company. Now I know smaller companies are more my speed, with the ability to be a part of the vision and growth of the mission. Of course, God knew this. God provided me with a teddy bear that had all the bells and whistles. The job had exciting work, great pay, great coworkers, and the city of Chicago was amazing! God came through, and I could really see myself staying in Chicago for some time and seeing where this job takes me.

As the year ended, my wife finished her Ph.D. and was on the job hunt. I lobbied for jobs in Chicago, but those didn’t pan out. Then, her colleague sent her a job opportunity that came across his desk; seeing it was a job in Texas, he thought it might be of interest to her. Funny enough, a couple of years earlier, she was told that this job would come available, and now it was. God is a great orchestrator! As I would find out later, He is a masterful orchestrator. My wife applied and got the job offer, and now it’s time to decide on the next move.

At this point, I am pretty attached to my teddy bear (my current job in Chicago), and I am having difficulty letting it go. This is where I realize the little girl’s perspective. I’m now faced with looking at the job in my hands and seeing God ask for it back. Asking me if I will trust Him once again. So, we make the difficult decision to move. I’m not sure what God will replace my job with, but I must trust that God will provide as He did before. Still, it wasn’t easy. At a certain point, it got hard to go to work knowing I was preparing to leave. Then something not amazing happened.

A couple of weeks before our departure, my wife’s supervisor had announced his plans to retire after the following year. As soon as the news came out many of my wife’s colleagues began side eyeing her and nudging her about the soon to be opened position. It was obvious that they wanted her to stay and apply for the position. In the meantime, I am in total disbelief at the timing of it all. That would have worked perfectly in my mind if this had come up a couple of months earlier. That disbelief soon turned into laughter, realizing God orchestrated it this way for a purpose. Honestly, it felt like a flex from God, saying to me, “if I wanted you to stay here, I would have easily orchestrated it that way.” So that’s where I am today, in the midst of that trust, waiting as God orchestrates the next chapter. Through this, I am reminded of Proverbs 3: 5-6 and Psalms 37: 3-4: