If you asked me a year ago where I thought I would be in a year, the answer would not even come close to resembling what my life is really like.
A year ago, I thought I was heading off to Utah State to tackle my first year of graduate school. I thought I would immerse myself in the field of social activities, and if I was really lucky, I might manage to hold down a guy for a few months. My career was my focus and I was fully prepared for the challenges that awaited me in Logan. But God had something else in store for my life.
This post isn't meant to brag about how wonderful or amazing my life is. Rather, it's my mere amazement at the fact that God really does care and watch over us, and His plan for us is much, much greater than the one we could ever create for ourselves.
I started to see the plan unfold last June. By that time, Jonathon and I knew each and we'd gone on a couple of dates, but nothing serious. We were just really good friends. However, I had a heck of a time trying to find housing in Logan. It seemed like every time I came close to finding a good place to live, it fell through. Finally, the thought came that maybe I wasn't supposed to move to Logan. Being the stubborn person that I am, I brushed it aside and continued on my search.
Two days after finding housing and amazing roommates in Logan, I made the decision not to attend Utah State. If you remember my earlier post, that was probably the hardest decision I ever made up to this point in my life. I felt like I lost my long sought-after dream, and I didn't know why. But I decided to move forward and not look back with thoughts of regret. And I didn't.
Within a couple of days of searching for housing in Provo, I found multiple places that would have worked well. The one I chose ended up being 1.5 blocks from Jonathon. I know that wasn't a coincidence.
I moved to Provo scared and with no idea what I was going to do with my life. I planned another attempt at BYU's program, but this time I wasn't so confident in my abilities and doubted I'd get accepted. But I worked as hard as I could regardless. And it came with many, many challenges. The prerequisite I took was harder than any other class I've ever taken in my life. It was a miracle I got an A!
It took me about a month in Utah before I found a job. The move to Provo and the tuition for my pre-req class at BYU pretty much sapped up all of my savings, so I was getting desperate to find ANY job. As I was driving home one day from an interview, I remember feeling an incredible peace that I had made the right decision. I felt so blessed because 3 of my siblings were within a 10 minute drive from my apartment. Although the move to Provo created a lot of fear and loneliness, I felt so lucky to be so close to my family. It was one of the main reasons I wanted to attend BYU in the first place.
After many fruitless jobs interviews and frustrating days, I found the perfect job! All the jobs I had previously applied for were part-time positions because my class fell at an odd time of the day that wasn't conducive to most full-time business hours. However, the job I ended up getting was full-time AND incredibly flexible with my schedule! It also paid better than any of the other jobs I applied for. It was a perfect fit, and the month of frustration was well worth the wait! I knew God was watching over me, and by getting that job, he allowed me to get more than I was expecting.
In December, I got engaged to my best friend. I've already talked loads about that, but I seriously never thought I would get engaged that early. It was most definitely unexpected! And then the end of February I received the exciting news that I had been accepted to BYU!! I was so shocked. I didn't think I'd get in.
So, all of these things separately don't add up to much, but when you put them together, you can see how the Lord has gently guided my life to a place more spectacular and magnificent than I ever thought possible! If I would have had been stubborn and not accepted the Lord's hand in trying to guide me on the path He wanted for me, I would be in Logan doing who knows what. But instead, I get ALL of my dreams. I get to attend BYU (which I really, really wanted). I get to live close to my family. And I get to marry my best friend in 3 short weeks.
I am SO blessed and SO grateful for Lord's guidance in my life. This past year has been a HUGE testimony that He cares! He loves us. He knows what He's doing. So we just need to have faith. Have faith and be patient, and everything will work out. It doesn't always work out how we want. But in the end, it works out so much sweeter than we ever could have imagined. And for that, I am grateful :)
