The obstacle I faced was huge. I couldn’t imagine how God was going to provide a more perfect job for me than the one I had created for myself as training director. It was a dream job. I had just graduated with a master’s degree in adult education, and training was my passion. Working in sales for a large urban hotel, I wanted to create a spectacular training department for our staff.

With a new degree in hand, I proposed to my boss the creation of a part-time position allowing me to teach and train the hotel employees. At the time, I was four months pregnant. I knew the time-consuming schedule of my current full-time job would not be possible as a new mother. A part-time position in training seemed perfect.

Weeks passed after I submitted my proposal and I was called into my boss’s office. He gave me a thumbs-up. The position had been approved.

However, the evening before my boss called me into his office, my husband came home from work and excitedly told me he had been given a promotion. We were moving from Kansas City to Chicago. The part-time training position ended before it even started.

The first few months in Chicago were a bit challenging. With my husband new to a career, he spent a good bit of time working. I didn’t know anyone in my new town or anything about being a mother. Little did I know, God’s good plans for my life were just getting started in Chicago.

My passion for teaching and training didn’t diminish. Eventually, God allowed me to ease into a part-time teaching job at the local college. Then, we moved again. Soon after, God opened a door for me to start my own training company. This was brilliant on God’s part, because my part-time company went with me as we moved three more times. God’s plans for me were marching forward but he wasn’t nearly finished with me and my vocation.

A friend was starting an evangelism ministry and asked me to become one of her national trainers. After several years of training in my own small business, God was opening a door for me to train for him! My passion for training, along with my experience, allowed me to work in God’s business.

As I look back, I’m in awe at how God was able to do immeasurably more than I could have ever imagined. Through this wild and wonderful journey of more than 20 years, I’ve had the remarkable opportunity to teach and train thousands of women all over the country. My passion in training never changed. God knew that. What seemed to be an obstacle earlier in life was really just a training ground for the bigger things God had in mind for me.

Has there been a time in your life when you knew God’s good plans were immeasurably more than your own hopes and dreams?

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

“Do you want to go to Africa?” my friend Debi asked when I bumped into her in the hallway at church.

“Yes, I do.”

And that was it. I had no details, no dates, and no purpose for going. Yet I had just committed to traveling to the other side of the world.

I’m not typically a “yes” person. I tend to say “no” a lot more. But for some reason, I knew Africa was calling me.

In the months before my friend asked, I had been praying God would open a new door that would take me out of my comfort zone. About to turn 50, my desire was to do something that added a new purpose to my life. Don’t get me wrong. I loved what I was doing, but sometimes life needs to be stirred up so we can see things from a different perspective.

I never dreamed God would ask me to go to Malawi, Africa.

And it all happened because a friend asked, and I said “yes.”

“Yes” is a powerful word because it draws us into activity. Most things we do begin with a “yes” or a “no.” We accept or deny.

• I gladly said “yes” when my husband asked me to marry him.
• I eagerly said “yes” when I accepted my first job.
• I cautiously said “yes” when my neighbor asked me to volunteer at her school.

Sometimes the activity is short-lived and has a beginning and end, like saying “yes” to having coffee with a friend. But sometimes a “yes” can dramatically change the course of your life.

There was one particular time when my “yes” changed everything, because it was the beginning of my Jesus story. I said “yes” to Jesus when I was nine years old. I prayed and asked him to become part of my life.

Saying “yes” to Jesus is the beginning of a wild and wonderful life. Although Jesus doesn’t use the exact words “wild and wonderful,” he does make a lot of promises about what a life with him might look like.

Maybe your life is feeling a little unwound, unknown, crazy, or even stagnant. It’s okay; Jesus wants to join you wherever you are. He is not afraid of your mess. He can handle your doubts and fears. More than anything, he wants to be part of all your endeavors and walk alongside you every day.

Jesus wants to do your wild and wonderful journey together.

All you have to do is say “yes.”

If you choose to say “yes,” there’s no guarantee everything will turn out exactly as you planned. And I can’t promise that you won’t experience difficult times along the way. However, saying “yes” to Jesus means he is with you every step of your journey. You won’t be alone as you travel.

And this is what makes life both wild and wonderful.

“Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus. In him, this is what we preach and pray, the great Amen, God’s Yes and our Yes together, gloriously evident. God affirms us, making us a sure thing in Christ, putting his Yes within us”
(2 Corinthians 1:20-21, The Message).

A few weeks ago my great-nieces and nephew visited my husband and I in Florida.

Each day offered new and grand adventures. Sea-shelling, sand castle building, wave hopping, and night crabbing were some of our activities. From sun-up to sun-down big decisions had to be made — would we walk the beach searching for one-of-a-kind seashells or would we build grand structures in the perfect white sand?

We ran everywhere — up the staircase in the house to put on swimsuits, over the beach-bridge to jump in the water, into the pool to play Marco Polo. Seldom did we walk. But when we did, it was because we were stopping to look at something the ocean brought in.

It’s pretty fun to see the beach through children’s eyes.

Every day brought undiscovered treasures and new adventures. It was such a happy sight to see excitement in the smallest things.

Yet, here’s the thing. The beach is here everyday. Day in and day out the tide comes in and goes out. The waves roll at their own pace providing natural beauty like non other. But from a child’s eyes, it is all new.

I love the beach. I see and appreciate its beauty. But I’m grateful because these little people help me see the beach differently. For example, to them, every seashell is a trophy. They remind me to keep a sense of urgency, not hurry, but urgency because we should never waste time by not being at the beach. And maybe best of all, the activities from spending a day in the sun and sand reward us with a good night’s sleep!

So, here’s your challenge for today. Find a child somewhere — grocery store, neighbor, church. Get down on your knees to their eye level. Try to see things from their perspective. The world will look differently from down there. I think you will see wonderful things from a fresh new perspective.

And perhaps you will realize time is never wasted when we enjoy things from a different perspective.

Meet two of my favorite people: Meg and Pat.

Meg is a junior in high school and is my awesome friend, neighbor, and inspiration. I love spending time with her because she’s fun and super cool. Over the past few years, Meg and I have done all sorts of things together. We’ve gone to movies, had coffee, attended church, and even volunteered together. Some might say I am Meg’s mentor, but I would laugh at that comment because, to be totally truthful, I think Meg is my mentor. Meg reminds me to laugh often and enjoy life more.

Pat is a few years older than me. But one would never know it based on our activity level; Pat out-does me at every turn. Like Meg, Pat is super fun and I laugh a lot when I am around her. She’s also an encourager. And we never part or hang up the phone without her reminding me that she loves me.

 

I’d like to think that sometimes these two gals benefit from the time they spend with me. It’s not measurable, so I’ll never know. But here’s the thing: I know it’s important to spend time with women of all ages and personalities. I’ve found they will always bring out the best in me and help me grow. 

No doubt my life is richer, wiser, and way more fun because of these two women. I pray you will seek out people who aren’t just like you. If you do, you’ll soon find yourself reading books you would have never read, doing activities you never imagined, and discussing topics you previously knew nothing about. 

These are the things that make life rich.