There Are No Accidents

One of my favorite quotes ever (and that's saying a lot, because I adore quotes!) came from a sermon at our local church. We are not the best regular attenders, but on one day we went there was a guest speaker. I have blogged about it before at There is No Chance. The quote is "God is personally weaving every circumstance in your life...there is no chance, no happenstance-you are being funneled to be exactly where you are supposed to be."  This came to me today after I accidentally bought Isaiah the wrong size underwear at the store. Huh? There's a story behind this. A few days ago I met a woman at the pregnancy center who was speaking to another worker there about how she needed clothing for her son, but since we have only up to size 2T in the center, she wasn't having any luck. I interrupted. "What size clothing do you need?" She went on to tell me she needed sizes 3T and 4T boy's clothing, and really was in need of shoes and underwear as well. I told her to come see me again next week and that I would have some things for her. Isaiah just grew out of these sizes not that long ago, and I am not having any more, so I figured she was welcome to it. I have a nice bag of things, including shoes for her, but no undies, so when I was at Wal-Mart, I thought I would just buy Zay some new ones, and hand down his old ones. This must have been heavy on my mind. I knew I kept thinking the other day that every kid deserves new underwear. I get home and unpack from the store and realize that I bought the wrong size! 4T must have been so on my mind that I bought that size, not 5 or 6 like Isaiah would need. Then it dawned on me. Duh! There are no accidents. I happily stuffed the new pack of 5 undies into the bag of clothes with a note that said, "I know I just met you, but I have had rough times too. I hope this helps a bit. Seems your son is right behind mine in sizes. I go through his stuff every few months. Call or text me to check in, and I'll see what we have." I hope her son smiles to see his new stuff, but more than that, I feel lucky-like I was in the right place at the right time. I am thankful for that.

I am also thinking of another quote today that has lived in magnet form on my fridge for a long time. It is from my mom. "There is no set path, just follow your heart." This was a hard one for me. To be perfectly honest there are times I hated this saying, because I wanted a plan, a path to be on. I have been learning though that we never know what we will be brought to and through when we keep our options open. I have no plan for the fall as of yet. I still don't know if I am into a counseling program this year or will have to wait until fall 2014 (I interview Monday!), and I have no idea if I am going to be working or not. I know that I have had very mixed feelings about this, but I have realized that I wasn't supposed to be teaching, since it is a 40+hour a week profession, however that does not mean that I cannot take a part-time job (or maybe full-time even if the hours are just right). One benefit of not needing to find work is the option of being picky. I am not looking for a high paying job, and I am not looking for just anything part-time. It has to be helping people. It has to not effect my family (other than helping a bit monetarily). The big thing-it has to be a job that I feel has tons of value (I know every job does! BUT it has to line up with my personal values). So, this had lead me to apply to four jobs, and I may apply to a fifth. They are: Social Services Worker for Child Protective Services (DHS), Court Appointed Victim's Advocate, secretary at Looking Glass (a counseling place for troubled teens), and a secretary at Emeritus Senior Living. The two secretarial jobs fit because A) I have experience, and B) both are places I could potentially work, as well as are two of my passions (teens and the elderly). Finally, I have thought about applying to be a caregiver if none of those work out (wishing I'd finished my CNA right about now), because though I am not going into nursing, the work is right up my alley. It is gritty and tough at times, yes, but also very needed. These things would all be following my heart.