The Plan

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This post developed in the last couple of weeks (it always takes a looong time for me to compile a single post!)... So part of it I wrote quite a while ago - and the further down you go the more recent it becomes. ;)

* * *

Since last Friday (May 6) I have...
a job!
And it's quite a scary thing. I'm still not fully realizing I will officially be a teacher standing in front of a class of second graders in August 2011. It seems like it's a task quite a few sizes too big for me... But. On the other hand there's something I know...
I know I am on a road.
I know the road is narrow.
I know I have a wonderful, incredible Guide right beside me on that road.
And He knows the map.
He knows everything that is still quite foggy in my perspective.
He knows what's behind the next bend in that road.
And He knows perfectly how much of what is ahead of me I need to know now.
So He chose to tell me I will be a second grade homeroom teacher for the next school year.
Wow.

* * *

A few months ago I first started realizing I had no idea what I would do with my life come summer 2011. I knew I would (God willing) finish my studies and graduate in "Pre-Primary and Primary Education." But what was to come after that...I had no idea.
So I started worrying.
But after a while of thinking through some possibilities of a future for me and of wasting quite a bit of energy in that activity, I decided I needed to lay my future in God's hands. I knew I had to stop worrying and let Him lead me. And I felt peace in my heart again.
For some months I did not think much of the time ahead and of where I would be led. I was busy with my studies - attending classes, writing papers, preparing lessons and teaching young students.

* * *

But then, I started thinking about my future a little more again...
And interestingly I had quite a few ideas of what I could do with my life once I would be done studying.
Looking back, it seems like every day I managed to come up with another great idea or plan of what could be done with this life of mine...
There were so many possibilities - plans, dreams and wishes of my own that all sounded so exciting!
There were so many roads to take, so many exciting ways of living, so many things I would have loved to do and see - SO many! 
So how was I ever to find out what was best for me?! 
And with that, with every new possibility or dream I came up with, my fears and worries increased.
After a while I did not know at all what to do with my life anymore... The more ideas I had the more I felt like I was lost and would never find out what truly was best. It was like there was just a heap of possible futures for me, a heap of dreams and ways I imagined my life to look like that I got completely lost in. And I was more confused about my future than ever before...

* * *

At some point (about a month ago - meaning early April ;)) God finally came into the picture again (He'd always been there, waiting for me to turn to Him and to learn to depend on Him regarding my future, but I had kept hiding myself behind those huge heaps and endless worries...).
He led me to a book called Appointment in Jerusalem by Derek and Lydia Prince. 
From what happened during the days I read it and how it perfectly fit in my life circumstances, I just know He wanted me to read it because He wanted to speak through it.
As the book is described on amazon dot com,

"This is the riveting true story of a young schoolteacher and her courageous quest to know God's will for her life. In Lydia Prince's search for God and her life's purpose, she is led to Jerusalem where she learns the power of prayer and experiences many miracles of provision and protection. Lydia rescues a dying baby girl and then miraculously survives many dangers, including gunfire, siege, and barricades. She enters into her true appointment from God and, in the process, rescues scores of abandoned sick and orphaned children from disease and death. Discover how God can remarkably use those who trust Him!"

From just reading that description you might be able to tell in what ways I was affected by this book! :)
...I absolutely loved reading it!! Countless times I saw myself inwardly nodding at what was described, being in awe at how I completely understood what was happening because I had been in very similar situations myself. At times I would silently smile or even laugh out loud because I could relate so well to what Lydia was going through and to her emotions and thoughts described.
I followed this woman's journey to God, and how she - after she had found Him und surrendered her entire life to Him - took step after step in obedience to her Lord Jesus and followed where He led her. Watching the transformation from a successful, rich and popular teacher who had everything one could ask for in this life (materially and socially) - to a humble, almost penniless woman depending entirely on God and being completely obedient to His's will and plan for her life - no matter what that would mean materially, socially and in terms of location - was so extremely astounding and inspiring...
And how it all fit in my life like puzzle pieces coming together and opened my perspective to God's purpose for my life was so intriguing and encouraging!!

* * *

There is one particular passage in the book that - from the very moment I read it for the first time - seems to be engraved in my heart. Something I don't ever want to forget I learned through this lady's journey... It is from a part in the book where Lydia (still being a teacher living in Denmark, but learning to live out her newly found life in Jesus Christ!) travels to Sweden for a vacation. During that time she is waiting for guidance from God concerning her future (can you see the "coincidence" here?! :)). She doesn't know which direction to go or what decisions to make. So on a Sunday she attends a church sermon in Sweden and there she receives her answer - from God Himself ;)...
Since (again!) I only have a German copy of this book (Vergässe ich dein, Jerusalem) I'll try and translate what that key part of the book (to me :)) says.

I stopped listening to him and forgot about the whole congregation sitting around me. The last words of the text he read constantly echoed in my mind, "...for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (referring to Ephesians 2:10). Little by little I started to awaken to their meaning: God already has a unique assignment for life for every single one of us.  

This was the answer to my question! I did not need to plan my life's work in any way. My job was to find out which task God had already designed for me. There was a particular assignment God had meant for me to do - a work no one else in the world could do. It was the greatest responsibility of my life to find out what that work was and to fulfill it. If I didn't perform the task it would be left undone. No one else could take my place.

- Chapter 5, Dr. Karlsson's Message

Such beautiful, beautiful words! They literally spoke right to my heart - it was exactly what I needed right then! :) I seriously believe they were written for me. They made such an impact!
...It was all well. My Father in heaven had my life already planned. I did not need to worry about it. All I needed to worry about was finding out what that plan looked like!
I did not need to decide which one of the many countless possibilities in life was the one I was supposed to choose. It was not about the possibilities. It was about the plan.
All about the plan.
The Perfect Plan designed by the Master Life Planner -
just 
for 
me.
Can you imagine?!
I love that thought! 
(Just like me you might have heard this many, many times throughout your life. "God has a plan for your life!" - Growing up in a Christian family and spending lots of time around Christians you get to hear this all the time. And it is true! But the plan doesn't just "happen" because you're a Christian and say you believe in Jesus... It's only if we surrender our own plans and our own desires and only desire Jesus and His will - and obey whatever He asks of us - that we will see this plan come to pass!)

* * *

So, the days and weeks following that memorable day of learning a new and awesome lesson, I prayed and prayed and prayed for the plan to be revealed to me. For the next step to be shown. For the way to open before me. It was a beautiful, exciting experience. I was (and still am!) so excited about this plan unfolding before my eyes!! For a while the word "plan" just seemed to constantly be in my thoughts! :)

...Then, on one beautiful late-April afternoon - my parents and I were just having my little nephew over at our house and enjoying every minute of it :) - I got a call... It was the teacher in whose class I did my last internship - and she told me of an open position at her school... 

And well, to make a long story short, I somehow ended up getting that job!! With doing hardly anything for it! It was just like...suddenly it was there - here you go, Salome! ;) 

My God did it all. 

He had already prepared that spot for me and He already decided this is the perfect thing for me for this time. And let me add that this job is just perfect for me - it is exactly what I imagined my first real job as a teacher to look like! Almost exactly (except for the fact that I'll be the homeroom teacher which is kind of intimidating...but at the same time it is probably a good thing because it will require more dedication and I just might need that added challenge! ;)).

* * *

I didn't think the answer would come so fast! I thought, ok, now God is surely going to stretch me like crazy. Now that I've surrendered my future to Him again, He's going to test my faith and make me wait... But well, I was wrong. :)

It is incredible.

He is incredible! :)

"Every good and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." - James 1:17

* * *

During this whole time - but especially during the time I was waiting for God's revelation of the plan ;) - I was encouraged by a beautiful song I first heard a couple months ago. It's from the Swiss singer Philippe Decourroux (go here or here to learn more) and I've been listening to it many times in the last few weeks. 
(Unfortunately the song is nowhere to be found on the internet. I would love for you to be able to listen to it. The music by the Prague Philharmonic's Musicians is very lovely and just perfect for this kind of song... It's simply beautiful.)

J'irai

J'irai - où le vent m'emportera

I'll go - where the wind'll carry me

J'irai - où Ta voix m'appelera

I'll go - where Your voice'll call me

J'irai - jusqu'au bout de la terre

I'll go - to the ends of the earth

J'irai - sans jamais douter de Toi

I'll go - without ever doubting You

J'irai - j'irai là où Tu voudras

I'll go - I'll go where You want me to

Avec Toi

With You

J'irai - où le vent m'emportera

I'll go - where the wind'll carry me

J'irai - j'irai là où Tu m'envois

I'll go - I'll go where You'll send me

Jusqu'au bout de la terre

To the ends of the earth

J'irai - obéissant à Ta voix

I'll go - obeying Your voice

J'irai - même si je ne comprends pas

I'll go - even if I don't understand

Jusqu'au bout de moi-même

To the ends of the earth

Mais pas sans Toi

But not without You

J'irai - sans jamais douter de Toi

I'll go - without ever doubting You

J' irai - j'irai là où Tu m'envois

I'll go - I'll go where You'll send me

Jusqu'au bout de moi-même

To the end of myself

Mais pas sans Toi

But not without You

* * *

On another note...
Philippe Decourroux advocates for victims of human trafficking and forced prostitution with his music. I will dedicate a whole post to this horrific trade in the near future (and there you'll get to listen to him for sure)...
So stay tuned.
This is so important - because... 


"Il faut que le monde sache!"
"The world needs to know!"
Philippe Decourroux