Waiting...

It's amazing how when I take the time to really dive into the Word God is faithful to show me that He always has something new to teach me that is just what I need at that moment.

Tuesday, I had the privilege to do a phone interview for a position as an assistant athletic trainer for the football team at a yet undisclosed SEC university.  Now, throughout this whole job search process, I have been reminding myself that God has this all under control.  He did not bring me this far to leave me here. 

But...somehow I forgot all about this when I was contacted about this interview.  So for the few days in between scheduling the interview and actually completing it, I was nervous.  Continually thinking about what a great gig this would be. How it could set me up for everything I want to do professionally.  That it would ease my mind to have a job in place.  Being able to say I was a 25-yr-old assistant athletic trainer in the SEC (Humility is one of my strong points. Can't you tell?)  However, God had something to say about this on Sunday, when He reminded me through some song at church that He is still sovereign and as long as I do my best, He'll do the rest.  It might not be this job, but it will be what I need.

Fast forward to Tuesday.  The interview went perfectly fine, and they told me that they would discuss the candidates (there are only seven of us) and bring people on campus for another interview over the next 1-2 weeks.

So now...I just wait.  While waiting, I am continually trying to figure out their process -  guessing when and how they are going to proceed -  figuring that if I don't get a call my Monday I'm definitely not their first choice and may never get a call.  I have never been a patient person, and this especially is not easy to wait for.

But, once again, God shows up. Gosh, He's so good at that.  It's like He planned this whole thing or something. 

My Bible reading this morning is Exodus 36-40.  It is about preparing the items for the first tabernacle.  All of these things were made by one man...Bezalel.  Because of this, it must have taken FOREVER!  There were a lot of things to make and, I mean, this was where God was gonna dwell so you know they had to be perfect.  I can imagine the Israelites jut sitting there twiddling their thumbs waiting for all this to be finished.  That's when it occurred to me that this isn't the first time, nor would it be the last time, that the Israelites had to wait.

God has been teaching His people to wait from the beginning of time!  He said wait for me to save you from slavery; wait for me to part the Red Sea; wait for me to give you food and water; wait for the building of my tabernacle; wait in the desert for 40 years until I reveal the Promised Land to you; wait for your Messiah; and WAIT three days and it will all make sense!  Even now, He says believe in Me, serve Me and wait and one day you will see My face.

I know I'm hard headed, but when confronted with this many examples, I have no choice but to settle in and prepare for the waiting.  He has proven too many times that in the end, He knows best, His timing is perfect and His plan will ALWAYS be fulfilled just the way He planned it.

So still...I just wait.

My First Trip to the Ship

As I'm sitting in my three hour class, I realized that I have yet to share the most exciting happening in my work life this year!  Saturday March 5, I spent practically the entire day at Colonial Life Arena helping both my boys and girls basketball teams prepare to play in the state championship.  We were one of only a few schools from which both teams made it to the finals.

The girls played first, and they played great.  We took the Timberland Wolves to overtime but were bested in the extra period and lost 55-48.  It was a very intense game.  The girls were obviously upset, and I with them, but they had a fantastic season!  Entering the playoffs as a three seed, we beat two number one seeds on our way to being the only three seed to play for the state championship.

 

I had to add this picture because it was my contribution to The State newspaper on Sunday, March 6. Flattering, I know.

Read the article from the game here.

Thankfully, after the girl's game, there was a still a chance to leave the arena with a win.  My boys were playing for their second consecutive state championship, fourth under Coach Norris and sixth in program history. Coach Norris had these shirts made just to remind everybody:

 Well, win we did.  My boys held the lead the whole game until 44 seconds left in the third quarter, but then went on a 19-4 run to finish with a 56-50 victory over Mullins and prove that their number one season long ranking was well deserved!  This was the banner picture on the front page of The State newpaper on Sunday:

Read the article here.

So, finally, I'm a state champion. Last week, I tried on sample rings to find the best fit for the huge gold ring coming my way in the next few months.  And, apparently, the Celtics' Ray Allen is buying us state championship jackets.  I don't know what they are gonna look like, but hey, if an NBA player is buying them, they can't be that bad...

Lent...

Today starts the season of Lent.  I never really understood Lent. Then, all of a sudden a few years ago people close to me, friends, family, etc. started giving up things until Easter.  I wasn't really into this but didn't want to feel like I was just ignoring God if He really wanted me to give something up so last year I did a little research and this year I read a little more. 

This is what I've decided - Lent is a time of remembrance. A time of reflection of the path our Savior took to the cross. People often give things up as a concrete reminder of the sacrifice He paid for us.  A time to reconnect with God. To remember His pain.

So for me, I'm going to do what I did last year.  I'm going to spend Lent reflecting on and reminding myself of the Easter story - the story of Jesus' choice and His crucifixion, the story of my redemption and the world's salvation.

I'm going to read again John Piper's Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die. One reason per day (with a few days of two so I can make 50 reasons equal 40 days).

And then Easter weekend, I will watch The Passion of the Christ.

 Not because I enjoy watching a dramatization of the Father's wrath raging against His Son, the only One who never did anything to deserve it, but so I am reminded of the whole story - not simply the joy of Easter morning, but the devastation of Calvary and the heartache of waiting in between.

Because this is who I am, this is where I come from, this is my story.  To lose the knowledge and reality of these days and these moments is to lose myself.



Great blog post about Lent: http://www.lifeingraceblog.com/2011/03/lent-for-the-newcomer-learning-from-my-father.html